Construction prepares UW campus for 21st century learning
This aerial view of new Computer Science and Engineering/Electrical Engineering Building shows off its gabled roof line. At the upper left are the flat roofs of the old “EE” Building. Photo © 1997 Soundview Aerial.
Alumni returning to campus for football games, arts events or conferences this fall will find new buildings and ongoing construction as the UW prepares for the 21st century.
The most visible project is a new building facing “Frosh Pond” and framing Rainier Vista. This is the first phase of a new Computer Science and Engineering/Electrical Engineering Building going up on the site of a parking lot behind the old Electrical Engineering (EE) Building.
The new building reflects the UW’s classic Collegiate Gothic architecture through its brick facade, gabled roof line and towers. One of its most distinctive features is a central atrium that extends through most of the building, allowing natural light to reach interior offices and labs. Its modular design will accommodate future technology which may make unforeseen demands on the physical plant.
The new building has about 180,000 square feet of space and will be completed by the end of 1997. The Department of Electrical Engineering will move into the building and much of the current space in the old EE Building will be mothballed.
Due to higher than anticipated costs for the first phase, the UW has postponed construction on phase two of the project, which would have torn down parts of the old EE Building, renovated other space and built a new wing. The Department of Computer Science and Engineering will stay in Sieg Hall until a new phase two is planned and built. The state appropriation for both phases is $98.6 million.
This summer the $16.3 million School of Business Administration addition opened, the first new construction for the school in 35 years.
The addition includes the Seafirst Executive Education Center, a tower with classrooms and meeting areas, and the Albert and Evelyn Foster Library, a ground-level business library featuring a massive skylight for its reading area.
The addition houses the Boeing Auditorium, which holds about 125 students, and the fourth-floor James B. Douglas Executive Forum, a central meeting/gathering area.
The architects borrowed from existing campus styles, reflecting the look of Hutchinson Hall across the street. The building materials include warm brick, beige precast concrete and slate. The cost of the project was covered through a match of public and private dollars.
Alumni are invited to an open house for the building held Tuesday, Sept. 16. A ribbon cutting ceremony starts at 1 :30 p.m., followed by a symposium on international business and building tours throughout the afternoon.
Other campus construction includes Mary Gates Hall, a $35 million renovation and addition to the old Physics Hall, which will house undergraduate services such as counseling, computer facilities and more than 40 “electronic classrooms.” The project, ready by fall 1999, honors the late UW Regent Mary Gates. In 1995, her son, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, contributed $10 million to establish the Mary Gates Endowment for Students, income from which will support outstanding undergraduates.
Site work on the UW’s Southwest Campus continues, with a major relocation of 15th Avenue N.E. and the closing of University Way N.E. south of N.E. Pacific Street. In April, the state funded two Southwest Campus projects: a new fisheries building and a new oceanography building. Construction on both began this summer with completion due in 2000.
While not a UW project, a University District landmark with close connections to the University recently completed a $5 million renovation. In July, the Edmond Meany Hotel at 4507 Brooklyn Ave. N.E. reverted back to its original name, honoring the legendary UW history professor. The renovation included restoring much of the Art Deco exterior and interior details from 1931, the year the hotel opened.