UW Architectural Commission
Minutes of Meeting
March 11, 2013
The Burke Room
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
APPROVED 6/10/2013
Present
R John Schaufelberger, Acting Chair Interim Dean, College of Built Environments Voting
£ Linda Jewell Partner, Freeman & Jewell; Voting
Professor, Landscape Architecture, UC Berkeley
£ Vacant Voting
R John Syvertsen Senior Principal, Cannon Design Voting
R Cathy Simon Design Principal, Perkins+Will Voting
R Christopher Tritt Student Representative, College of Built Environments Voting
R Rebecca Barnes University Architect, Office of Planning & Budgeting Ex Officio
R Richard Chapman Associate Vice President, Capital Projects Office Ex Officio
R Charles Kennedy Associate Vice President, Facilities Services Ex Officio
R Kristine Kenney University Landscape Architect,
Office of Planning & Budgeting Ex Officio
R Kirk Pawlowski Assistant Vice Provost, Capital Resource Planning,
Office of Planning & Budgeting Ex Officio
R V’Ella Warren Senior Vice President; Treasurer, Board of Regents Ex Officio
Acting Chair of the Architectural Commission and Interim Dean of the College of Built Environments John Schaufelberger called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. The agenda for the meeting was approved, as were the minutes of the December 3, 2012 meeting, as submitted. Kristine Kenney gave a brief overview of the March 3, 2013 University Landscape Advisory Committee meeting. (See http://opb.washington.edu/content/ulac-meeting-march-7-2013 for ULAC minutes.)
Rebecca Barnes addressed brief remarks on the following on-going projects.
A great deal of work has been done by External Relations and Real Estate Office in conjunction with WA DOT and City of Seattle officials on the valuation and transfer of the property associated with the SR 520 Bridge mitigation, which includes the current site of the UW Police Department; the agreement is expected to be presented to the UW Board of Regents in May.
Also slated to be presented to the Regents in May are a funding plan and report on the final program of the Animal Care & Research Facility, which will include the restoration of the Portage Bay Vista landscape by the selected firm of Michael van Valkenburgh Associates, working in conjunction with the Office of the University Architect and ZGF.
Kristine Kenney next detailed the upcoming initial scoping sessions of the Campus Landscape Framework, during which, aided by selected consultant Michael van Valkenburgh Associates, the Office of the University Architect will meet with members of the University Community to identify the final scope of the plan and how it will coordinate with other campus planning initiatives.
wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (Intellectual House) – Phase I
Requested Action: Design Development Approval
John Wetzel, UW Project Manger
Johnpaul Jones, Bruce Arnold, Jones & Jones Architects
Sheila Edwards Lange, Vice President for Minority Affairs/Vice Provost for Diversity
Overview:
The wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (phonetic pronunciation wal-thub-alt) is a project nearly 40 years in the making that grows out of a long and increasingly active partnership between the University and the region’s tribal nations, which seeks to create a home away from home for Native American students, enabling them to maintain strong ties to family and culture, while helping them to successfully accomplish their educational goals at the University. The design will be reminiscent of Coast Salish longhouse-style traditions and constructed in a manner consistent with the environmental awareness and sensitivity of the indigenous peoples of the Northwest.
The project is proposed as two phases: Phase I will provide a multiservice learning and gathering space for Native American students, faculty, and staff that will provide the opportunity for various cultures and communities to come together in a supporting and welcoming education environment to share their knowledge and their cultures with one another. Phase II, which will construct a Teaching and Learning Building with student programming, multi-purpose meeting spaces, arts lab and an elders’ lounge, is dependent upon private donor funds and is not being designed at this time.
The design team has been working to advance the design and address comments from the Commission at a January 2013 special session, creating a more unified experience and sense of place, refining the Welcome Lobby and relocation its posts and beams to communicate the structure’s traditional sources more clearly and reinforce the notion of the lobby as the space between two buildings, and developing a flexible lighting system that is capable of creating an appropriate range of environmental conditions and changes of mood.
Project Budget:
Overall Budget $5,853,000
Schedule:
Design August 2012 - November 2013
Construction December 2013 - November 2014
Occupancy January 2015
Comments:
· Maintenance of water feature, native planting gardens and meadows must be considered as the design moves forward, given that the site will be unique in the campus landscape.
· While progress has been made in the expression of the longhouse, the lobby space between the Gathering Hall and the Conference Hall still competes with the two major volumes rather than reading as a conjoining space.
· The exterior lighting expression needs more careful integration to avoid the feeling of being “tacked on.”
· Interior doors should be the same height, or give the illusion of being the same height, as the exterior doors.
· A solution should be sought to integrate the color and texture of the pavement around the building with the traditional architecture of the building.
Action:
A motion was tendered that design development be approved; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
Burke Gilman Trail
Requested Action: Phase 1 - Design Development Approval
Full Trail - Schematic Design Approval
John Wetzel, UW Project Manger
Mauricio Villareal, Nathan Hilmer; Place, LLC
Josh Kavanagh, Director, Transportation Services
Overview:
This project will develop design and construction documents for the entire length of the University-owned portion of the Burke Gilman Trail Corridor based upon the Burke Gilman Trail Corridor Concept Plan by PLACE Studio, dated November 2012. Design and construction documents will be developed consistent with Federal Highway Administration standards, as appropriate. It is anticipated that actual construction projects to improve the BGT will be accomplished in phases, as funding allows. Initial estimates indicate a project cost of $15M-$16M (excluding the Pend Oreille underpass), in today’s dollars (non-escalated), for the University owned portion of the BGT. Transportation Services would like to add the Pend Oreille underpass to the project, the cost and design schedule for which is yet to be determined.
The University of Washington Transportation Services Office has received confirmation that funding from the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) in the amount of $3.0M will be made available in the fall of 2013. Combined with local sources, this is sufficient funding to support the design of the entire University owned BGT and construction of the Phase I – Campus Reach Improvements, as described in the November 2012 BGT Concept Plan, excluding the Pend Oreille underpass design, improving the trail from a point just west of Rainier Vista to the east side of the 15th Avenue NE intersection, the area most affected by the Sound Transit University Link Light Rail Project.
Project Budget:
Phase I Budget (excludes Pend Oreille) $6,078,414
Schedule:
Predesign (Concept Plan) December 2011 - November 2012
Consultant Selection November 2012 - December 2012
Design – Phase I January 2013 - June 2013
Design - Remaining Phases January 2013 - September 2013
Construction - Phase I September 2013 - August 2014
The schedule for the design of the Pend Oreille underpass is not yet determined and future construction phases are dependent upon available funding.
Comments:
· The Commission praised an informative presentation on an admirable project, but cautioned that too much design might, in effect, destroy some of the magical naiveté inherent in the forested trail and suggested that where the option exists to reduce and simplify, less might be more.
· A more natural or relaxed option may exist for the proposed new stairway leading from the Lewis Lane mixing zone to the bus stop on NE Pacific St, which could take into account possible ADA accommodation.
· The trail improvements must be well engineered to deal with movement of storm water across the added hardscape.
· Continued coordination with the Mountlake Triangle/Rainier Vista design team is of the utmost importance.
· Signage, while minimal and in keeping with standards currently being developed in conjunction with the Campus Landscape Framework, should also indicate that skateboards, in-line skates, and scooters should use the “wheeled” lane, separate from the pedestrian lane.
Action:
A motion was tendered that design development be approved; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
Burke Museum
Requested Action: None (Informational Update)
Randy Everett, UW Project Manger
Julie Stein, Director, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Overview:
The purpose of the project is to identify the facility needs and associated options for a major expansion of the Burke Museum, addressing limitations and shortcomings of the existing building and designing a functional facility which meets current and anticipated program needs. The end project will construct a new building adjacent to the existing 1962 vintage museum, addressing infrastructure, seismic, life safety, and accessibility deficiencies in the current building, as well as site issues. The Burke’s new facility is expected to be an architecturally noteworthy facility that makes visible the museum’s core institutional values of sustainability, excellence, stewardship, creativity, and community engagement. LEED platinum is the desired goal.
A Predesign Study was completed in June 2010. In February 2011 Northwest Archeological Associates completed a Cultural Resources Report (CRR), as well as a Historic Property Inventory (HPI) and Historic Resources Addendum (HRA). The CRR recommended that the Burke Museum is not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, stating removal or alteration of the Burke will have no effect on significant cultural resources.
The design team has been working to address feedback received at the March 14, 2011 Architectural Commission meeting, as well as programmatic considerations which have evolved since the Predesign Study was completed, including maximizing this corner of the campus for its urbanity, visibility, and identity, anticipating that the new building footprint may reduce the number of available parking spaces, evaluating the substantial pedestrian traffic across and adjacent to the site, optimizing visual and physical access between the research and collections functions and related exhibits as an important component of the museum’s interpretive plan, balancing continued operation of the museum during construction with project budget constraints, and considering schedule and budget uncertainty associated with combining funding from grants/donors with state funds.
Project Budget:
Total Budget (predesign): $52,500,000
Total Project (current) up to $91,000,000
Schedule
Design August 2012 to July 2015
Construction September 2015 March 2017
Occupancy April 2017
Comments:
· The Commission was pleased with the site planning analysis and supports the relocation of the Burke in a new building at the SW corner of the area bounded by 45th, Memorial Way, 43rd and 15th, and looks forward to seeing concepts for the careful siting of the building to maximize the many relationships the building will create between the U District community and the UW campus, including two important pedestrian entries.
· The new facility should stimulate fund-raising, elevate the Museum into a new class, engage the community, and activate the edge of campus at the corner of NE 45th St. and 15th Ave. NE.
· Strategic site planning should take into account a future prosperity in which collections from four off-site museum storage sites could be consolidated, as well as interim and long-term parking solutions.
UW Tacoma – University Y Project
Requested Action: Design/Build Introduction
Steve Tatge, UW Project Manger
Debra Friedman, Chancellor, and Harlan Patterson, Vice Chancellor, UWTacoma
Overview:
The University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) and the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties (YMCA) intend to partner to provide space for student recreation, leadership, and clubs. The 55,000-70,000 GSF building will be owned by UWT, operated by the YMCA, and jointly maintained by UWT (building exterior and grounds) and the YMCA (building interior and systems). Program elements will include a gymnasium, cardio and weight training facilities, indoor walking/jogging track, multipurpose exercise rooms, meeting rooms, locker rooms, student government and club space, site development, utilities, and landscaping. The building site is at S. 17th St. and Market St on the UWT campus and includes the footprint of the existing Longshoremen’s Hall, which will be demolished. The clients’ primary goals for the project are 1) to maximize the building and program square footage within the available budget, and 2) to produce a project which, at minimum, meets the level of quality of recent YMCA facilities constructed in Gig Harbor and Silverdale, Washington.
The project will be delivered through the Design/Build method, in which a contractor and design team will deliver the project for a fixed price in response to a detailed program and design requirements document. In large part, those requirements will be based on recently constructed regional YMCA facilities.
Project Budget:
Total Budget $20.0 million
Design & Construction Budget: $17.5 million (to be confirmed)
Schedule
Construction Start: March 2014
Occupancy: April 2015
The site is upslope from the majority of the developed UWT campus, and is immediately west of the Court 17 student apartments. Design related issues include addressing the opportunities and challenges of the sloped site, as will the approach to integrating the building into the campus’ fabric of predominantly older, renovated masonry buildings. The YMCAs on which the program will be based are competently executed ‘market-rate’ buildings but are not architecturally noteworthy and producing a project which is appropriate for the UWT campus and meets the program and budget requirements will be a challenge. The aggressive delivery schedule will allow for meaningful Commission input at the September 2013 meeting, with construction imminent as of the December 2013 meeting.
Comments:
· The experience and working relationship between the designer and builder in the team selected will be in of paramount importance in insuring this project avoids “thin” architectural cliché, approaches the feel of the historic buildings comprising the campus, and maintains a similar level of architectural integrity.
· Life-cycle costs, sustainability considerations and soil condition testing will be factors in fixing the price for the project.