Sumas School

When planning the construction of this elementary school in Sumas, Washington, Zervas Group Architects wanted to incorporate a passive solution due to the communities’ vulnerabilities to flooding. After reaching out to Floodproofing.com, it was decided that elevating the structure and installing Smart Vent Engineered Flood Vents as the mitigation solution meant much less fill would need to be used, reducing the impacts on the surrounding community significantly. Due to historic flooding in 2021, construction was temporarily shut down. Although flood levels reached just inches below the first finished floor, which was elevated 3' above the BFE, the project was able to be completed on time and is well protected from future flood events.