March 9, 2015

OKA shows design for $75M Burke Museum

Image by Olson Kundig Architects [enlarge]

Floor-to-ceiling windows in the lobby would help showcase exhibits and draw people inside.

Designs for the University of Washington’s Burke Museum show the $75 million replacement would be much more open and transparent than the 1962 building the museum is in today.

The new natural history and culture museum would be constructed along 15th Avenue Northeast, just west of the existing building, which is hidden behind a thicket on Northeast 45th Street.

The site would be regraded and a retaining wall along 15th Avenue would be removed so the museum will feel more connected to the street.

Floor-to-ceiling windows in the lobby would help showcase exhibits and draw people inside.

Olson Kundig Architects is the designer. UW plans to select a general contractor/construction manager on March 17.

Early design plans filed with the city of Seattle describe the existing 68,900-square-foot museum as a warren of isolated office areas, obsolete exhibit and storage areas, and outdated infrastructure.

The replacement would be designed to allow the Burke to increase its collection and strengthen its relationship with museum-goers, according to the architects.

The three-story building would have 110,000 square feet, with space for educational programs, a cafe, small store, catering kitchen and storage for large events, and areas for both changing and permanent exhibits.

Other behind-the-scenes spaces include labs, libraries, offices, a loading area, mechanical and electrical rooms, and work areas and storage for research and collections.

The building would be covered with wood siding and accented with cement board panels. Steel canopies would mark the entrances. Another steel canopy would extend from the cafe, which bumps out from the building next to the main entrance.

The project would seek a LEED gold rating.

A large entry plaza would be east of the building. Pedestrian paths would lead to the museum from 15th Avenue at 45th and 43rd streets.

The plans indicate the intersection at 15th Avenue and 43rd Street will become a more prominent entrance to the UW campus once the U District light rail station opens in 2021.

The existing museum would remain open throughout construction and then be demolished. Another new building unrelated to the Burke could be built on that site.

Surface parking for 150 vehicles is planned.

UW’s construction schedule calls for starting work by December if funding is in place. The new building would be completed by September 2017, but it would take another year to install exhibits and empty the old building.

All the work would be complete by March 2019.

Project team members include Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, landscape architect; Magnusson Klemencic Associates, structural engineer; WSP, mechanical engineer; and Sparling, electrical engineer. Sparling merged with Stantec in February.