2025 West Best Projects
Award of Merit, Higher Education: University of Washington Interdisciplinary Engineering Building
University of Washington Interdisciplinary Engineering Building
Seattle
Award of Merit
Submitted by Hensel Phelps
Owner University of Washington – Project Delivery Group
Lead Design Firm Kieran Timberlake
General Contractor Hensel Phelps
Civil/Structural Engineer KPFF Consulting Engineers
Mechanical Engineer Auburn Mechanical; PAE Engineers
Electrical Engineer VECA Electric
Spanning 72,000 sq ft, this $81-million engineering building provides hands-on learning space supporting more than 950 students across 10 departments. As the university’s first progressive design-build project on the main campus, the owner chose the contractor first before collaboratively choosing a Philadelphia-based architect.
This student-focused facility serves as the welcome center for UW’s engineering department, fostering silo-free interdisciplinary collaboration that prepares students for industry and entrepreneurial careers.
When it came to the site’s main constraint, a 60-ft elevation delta, the team transformed it into $700,000 in savings by tiering building levels into the hillside, creating three levels of campus accessibility while significantly reducing excavation, export costs and traffic congestion.
Other site challenges included steep slopes, dozens of heritage trees and two utility tunnels. Due to the site’s constrained location, a nearby parking lot was used to stockpile materials. To save on trucking costs, the team invested in a telebelt to export soils from the project site into the adjacent area for removal.
