Owner:
University of Washington, Seattle
Executive architect:
Mahlum Architects, Seattle

Design architect:
Kohn Pedersen Fox, New York

General contractor/construction manager:
Lease Crutcher Lewis, Seattle

Structural/civil engineer:
Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Seattle

Mechanical engineer:
CBG Consulting Engineers, Portland

Electrical engineer:
Sparling, Seattle

Lighting engineer:
Candela, Seattle

Landscape architect:
Murase Associates, Seattle

Acoustical engineer:
The Greenbusch Group, Seattle

Testing and inspections:
Mayes Testing Engineers, Everett
Geotechnical engineer:
GeoEngineers, Seattle

Location:
Northeast 43rd Street & 15th Avenue Northeast, Seattle

Cost:
$80 million

Size:
196,000 square feet

Groundbreaking:
May 4, 2001

Public opening:
Sept. 12

About the name:
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, donated $12 million to the law school, making the Gateses the largest private contributor to the project. William H. Gates Sr., for whom the building is named, is a retired partner of the Seattle law firm Preston Gates & Ellis.

William H. Gates Hall replaces Condon Hall as the home of the University of Washington School of Law. Some of the building’s features include:

Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library: Located on floors L1 and L2, the law library includes a 10,000-square-foot reading room and 40,000 square feet of library stacks. Eighteen-foot-tall skylights help illuminate the reading room. Computer terminals are located near the library’s entrance for quick access, and most of the collection is open stack.

Classrooms: Located on the first two floors, the classrooms feature wireless Internet access, “smart podiums” capable of supporting a wide variety instruction technology, voice enhancement systems and video-conferencing technology. Spaces include a 170-seat classroom designed to function as a trial court, as well as seminar rooms and law clinics.

Amenities: Students have access to a 28-person computer lab on the second floor, a remote learning lab and 12 group study rooms. Remote Internet access is available throughout the building and on its outdoor terrace. Other amenities include a coffee shop, a student-only lounge in the library and showers.