A series of devastating fires, from 1933 to 1951, scorched thousands of hectares of forest in Northwest Oregon. The charred wasteland, known as the Tillamook Burn, might have remained abandoned had it not been for dedicated groups of Oregonians who spent years planting millions of trees to create a new forest: the Tillamook State Forest. The forest’s carpet of green symbolizes the dedication of Oregonians who helped bring their treasured forest back to life, for the benefit of both people and wildlife.

The Tillamook Forest Center, an hour west of Portland, opened in March 2006 to tell this amazing story. AldrichPears Associates was brought on early in the site and building design process to work closely with architects Miller|Hull and landscape architects Walker Macy to create the 17,000-square-foot Center for the Oregon Department of Forestry.

The Foundation for Design

Tillamook Forest’s history and natural beauty inspired the design of the buildings and the site. The elongated building design mimics the sawmills that operated in the region during the early 1900s. The exhibit gallery is within one of the Center’s two long rectangular buildings.

Panoramic windows along one side of the gallery bring the forest into the exhibit experience. The wall opposite the windows acts as a counterpoint, offering a “view” to the forest of the past. To maintain a relationship with the forest, the building was conceived as part of the path through the forest and is linked seamlessly to the outdoor interpretive trail. The trail leads visitors from the forest, through the exhibit gallery, and outside over a suspension bridge.

A Stroll Through Forest History

The Center experience begins with the region’s devastating forest fire of 1933. The drama unfolds in Tillamook Burn Theater—a 4D immersive film presentation with wall murals showing the charred, ash-covered trees of the 1933 fire. Firestorm footage “engulfs” visitors in its destructive power. The forest fire’s crackling crescendo fills visitors’ ears as small amounts of smoke streams into the theater.

With the Tillamook Burn fresh in their minds, visitors go back in time—moving among the recreated trees and murals of ancient rain forests. In this Early Coast Range Forest, visitors play habitat games and open doors in trees to examine insects within layers of bark. Just outside, beyond the glass, a nurse stump sits in its original position. The building design includes a notch to preserve this strong interpretive feature. Covered in ferns, moss, and shrubs, the nurse stump illustrates the cycle of forest decay and re-growth. Back inside, visitors use a large, sliding microscope to examine plants and animals that live within rotting wood.

Visitors then jump ahead in time to the aftermath of the Tillamook Burn. Forest restoration exhibits help them make emotional connections to the past. Visitors explore the mini-theatre in the tree planters’ tent, flip through scrapbooks, and hear stories from tree planters and foresters.

The lookout tower outside recreates a lookout’s living space. Period props help visitors visualize the lives of the men and women who spotted forest fires during the mid-1900s. The webcam on top of the tower provides visitors inside the exhibit gallery with a bird’s-eye view of the forest.

The Early Life in the Tillamook thematic area motivates visitors to explore the Forest’s cultural past. They discover how important the western red cedar is to local Native Americans and can try weaving a cedar bark mat. Recreated fragments of a train station, setter’s home and logger’s cabin provide a rich perspective on the lifestyles and experiences of early setters and workers.

The final thematic area, Forests of Today and Tomorrow, with exhibits featuring engineered wood, feels light and modern. The centerpiece is a multi-functional model of forests in five different stages of growth. The Forest Challenge, a fun computer interactive, puts adults and kids in the role of a forest manager. Nearby, a large stream model illustrates salmon habitat and healthy watersheds. Young visitors can poke their heads into a “bubble” to get an underwater view of swimming salmon and stream habitat.

Walking the Talk

More and more projects feature sustainable building systems, and clients want to interpret these systems for their visitors. The Tillamook Forest Center is a case in point. The exhibits and building incorporated recycled or green materials. We worked closely with Miller|Hull and related consultants to ensure sustainable design features were interpreted effectively.

Indoor labels call attention to the building’s recycled carpet, natural linoleum, wood-pellet boilers, and insulation containing 6,000 recycled glass bottles. The outdoor pond features an interpretive panel explaining how the pond collects rainwater to help cool the building, flush toilets, and supply the fire sprinkler system.

Reflections