Guide Dogs for the Blind plans to expand Oregon campus in Boring

Guide Dogs for the Blind bills itself as the largest guide dog school in North America, having graduated more than 16,000 guide dog teams from its campuses in San Rafael, California, and Boring, Oregon, since 1942.

The nonprofit raises and trains dogs to work with people who are blind or experiencing vision loss. It also provides a variety of programs to help clients adjust to working with their canine partners.

Plans are underway to expand GDB’s campus in Oregon with the goal of reaching more people who may not have had access to those services.

“There’s a critical shortage of services available for people that are blind,” said Susan Armstrong, vice president of client programs at GDB. “We’re going to more than double the number of clients that we can serve at any given time.”

The new facility will include 14 classrooms — six more than the current facility. It will also feature a new community hub, allowing clients to interact and form connections outside of the classroom.

“When we first built this campus, I think it was a training campus for dogs and for people,” Armstrong said. “Over time, we’ve learned a lot about inclusion and community, and we want to build a space that the community wants to come and for people to see what’s really possible.”

The nonprofit conducted surveys and focus groups with current and former clients to hear what they wanted to include in the new facility.

It also engaged the services of Chris Downey, a blind architect who consults on the design of buildings that will be navigated without vision.

“He brought up the idea that the aroma of coffee was oftentimes a real important cue as to where the kitchen was,” said George Miers, one of the lead architects on the project. “So rather than hide it, we bring it out and locate that in a particular location because it’s a point of identification.”

In addition to smell, Miers and his team considered tactile and acoustical cues to help clients navigate the building without signs or other visual cues.

“Things like maybe introducing the sound of water in a small fountain that identifies a crossroads, or changing materials on the floor so that as you walk, the sound has changed … and you know you’re at an intersection, perhaps where a door is,” Miers said.

The new facility will also include 20,000 square feet of outdoor space for training and events, as well as a sensory garden.

The nonprofit has currently raised $15 million of the $28 million it needs to begin construction. It plans to break ground on the facility this summer. An expected completion date has not yet been announced.

Susan Armstrong and George Miers spoke with “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller. Click play to listen to the full conversation:

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