As the University of Washington, Bothell, enrollments continued to rise (the number of full-time students has risen more than 70 percent since 2009), the school saw the need to expand its facilities to accommodate not only a growing number of students, but to also provide cutting-edge learning environments to maintain that growth and keep a focus on safety.

The university worked with Glumac to develop Discovery Hall, a 74,000-square-foot facility that houses 11 science labs, 430 classroom seats, 250 laboratory seats and a 200-seat lecture hall. The building also includes a metal shop, wood shop, cold room, faculty offices and conference rooms. While many lab spaces require 100% of outside air be exhausted to prevent buildup of partials that can prove harmful to the space and its occupants, Glumac’s MEP engineering experts recommended an active chilled beam that expels only a third of exterior air but still maintains safe conditions and provides significant energy savings. Additionally, our BIM modeling coordination and review helped save Discovery Hall more than $2 million. Other features include high-efficiency condensing boilers and lighting systems that save energy at 15% above code. These efforts contributed to the design teams’ win of the 2014 American Institute of Architects Honor Award of Merit.

The project, which is designed to reach LEED Gold, helped set a new standard for future builds on University of Washington campuses. Glumac’s MEP engineering teams also helped design spaces that would be ready for future retrofits and expansions. As its student population grows and new sustainability technologies become available, Discovery Hall will be positioned to remain a cutting-edge facility for years to come.

Size: 74,000
Project Cost: $68 million
Completion Date: 2014
Architect: Hacker
Owner: University of Washington
Services: MEP Engineering, Energy Analysis

Images courtesy of Lara Swimmer