March 13, 2015

UW opens a longhouse in Seattle

Photos by Emile Pitre [enlarge]

Intellectual House has elements of traditional Northwest Coast longhouses.

[enlarge]

The gathering hall can seat 500 people.

The newest building on the University of Washington's Seattle campus draws on some of this area's oldest designs.

Officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday and have other events planned today to mark the opening of the $6 million Intellectual House between the Quad and MacMahon Hall, at 4249 Whitman Court.

The 8,400-square-foot building has elements of traditional Northwest Coast longhouses such as cedar planks and posts. It's a meeting spot for indigenous students, a center for Native learning, and a way to acknowledge the Duwamish people who once inhabited the grounds where the university stands today.

In the Coast Salish Lushootseed language, the name of the longhouse is pronounced “wah-sheb-altuh.”

Officials said they want the building to help Native American students, faculty and staff be more successful at the UW, and strengthen connections between the school and tribal communities.

The longhouse has a gathering space for 500 people, a large kitchen for teaching about Native foods and medicines, a small meeting room, and an outdoor area with a fire pit where salmon can be cooked in traditional ways.

The architect was Johnpaul Jones of Jones & Jones, who designed the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., and is of Cherokee-Choctaw descent.

Western Ventures Construction was the general contractor.

Today's celebration will include Coast Salish music, performances and cuisine. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Fundraising for a second building is expected to start soon. It will have more space for teaching and learning.