September 17, 2018

UW Life Sciences Building

Photos by Kevin Scott [enlarge]

The University of Washington's new Life Sciences Building, located along Northeast Pacific Street, was designed to encourage team-oriented science.

The $171 million complex houses a seven-floor, 187,000-square-foot research and teaching facility as well as a 20,000-square-foot research greenhouse with UW plant collections.

The open floor plan is designed for collaboration, with flexible and modular spaces that can be adjusted as needs change.

The elevator core is lined with wood from nine Douglas firs hand picked from land owned by UW biology professor Scott Freeman and his wife, Susan Leopold Freeman. Each fir was 150 feet tall — matching the height of the elevator core and the building itself.

The elevators play bird songs, and each floor has a specific song.

The building was designed to meet LEED gold criteria, with sustainable features such as reusing water for greenhouse irrigation, and solar glass fins that shade offices and generate electricity.

Owner: University of Washington

Construction manager: UW Capital Planning and Development

Architect: Perkins+Will

General contractor: Skanska USA

Design guidance: Office of the University Architect

Civil/structural engineer: Coughlin Porter Lundeen

Mechanical, electrical engineer: Affiliated Engineers

Landscape architect: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol

Mechanical contractor: McKinstry

Electrical contractor: Veca Electric & Technologies

Do you have photos of recent projects? Share them with DJC readers. Send high-resolution images and information to lisa.lannigan@djc.com.

Previous columns:

• Voda, 09-10-2018
• Juno Therapeutics, 09-04-2018
• The Crane, 08-27-2018
• Double Canyon Winery, 08-20-2018
• Elan Uptown Flats, 08-13-2018
• Pizza Press, 08-06-2018
• Moss Adams Bellingham office, 07-30-2018
• Big Fish, 07-23-2018