The former McCarty Hall, constructed in the 1960s on this site, was demolished after the university determined that the cost of renovation was greater than constructing new buildings to meet over-capacity housing demands.
Set into a wooded, steeply sloped site, the new buildings surround a town center with pathways that lead to the main campus. Unique amenity spaces include The Mill, maker space and engineering lab in McCarty Hall; a rooftop terrace above the dining area in Willow Hall; and a learning resource center and Rick’s Café (a student-managed ice cream shop) in Madrona Hall. Students can also use lounges, small group study spaces, group kitchens and dining areas, music practice rooms, laundries, and storage conveniently distributed throughout the buildings.
Post and beam construction frames oversized glazing in lanterns, a portion of the structure that steps away from the rest of the building. Located at opposing ends, these breakout areas offer study and social space for students, filled with light during the daytime and a welcoming glow at night.
Created a central dining hub that provides nutrition and social opportunities for students. Ventilation and exhaust systems for the ovens, flat top grills, and other equipment used in the dining and catering facilities were routed to a large mechanical rooftop penthouse. The team worked closely with MEP partners to incorporate vertical routing and penetrations into the wood structure and avoid conflicts with shear walls.
Integrated a food delivery loading dock into the site, partially tucking several bays into the sloped hillside below the residence halls. The extensive plaza connecting the buildings above also helps conceal delivery trucks and activity on the loading docks.
Closely coordinated over 215,000 square feet of façade with the architect and energy consultant early in the design phase, meshing multiple cladding materials to create attractive, high-performance structures that would withstand the Pacific Northwest climate.
Avoided conflicts with existing below-grade infrastructure by taking time to document the maze of utility tunnels. These existing tunnels, some buried 100 feet deep, crisscross the site and provide critical services to the entire campus. The team added a new tunnel access node with stairs for university operations staff. Taking cues from the concealed loading docks, the entrance to this portal is located behind the outdoor dining terrace.
Constructed a shoring wall to accommodate the fire access lane, wrapping around an adjacent building and perched on a steep slope. This complex solution was key to allowing phased construction of the North Campus redevelopment.
Photography (c) 2020 Chris J. Roberts Photography