Work has been completed on the LMN Architects-designed Founders Hall at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. The Seattle-based firm, who recently featured on our Meet Your Next Employer series, used the 84,800-square-foot building to create “a new hub for community, entrepreneurship, and innovation” while incorporating architectural principles of sustainability and harmonization with the wider campus.

Now completed, the building becomes the first fully mass timber building on the University of Washington campus. In addition to lowering the scheme’s embodied carbon footprint, the use of Douglas fir was also leveraged to create a “warm and inviting” atmosphere within the school. On the exterior, timber is blended with masonry to both reflect the material palette of the surrounding campus, and “hint at the experience” inside.

Internally, the building is composed of three volumes hosting student collaboration spaces, offices, classrooms, and gathering spaces, all connected by a five-story steel and wood staircase that “weaves” through the mass timber structure. Among the facilities contained within the scheme are two-tiered classrooms that can accommodate 65 or 135 students, 28 team and interview rooms, four executive conference rooms, a student commons with an outdoor terrace, and a rooftop event forum.

Natural and mechanical ventilation are integrated in the building to reduce the reliance on air conditioning, while cross-laminated timber floors and glulam post and beams are left exposed on the interior to form a visual connection with the campus’ Douglas fir and sequoia trees.

Combining the mass timber structure with fossil fuel-free operating, natural ventilation, and a tightly-sealed building envelope, the team calculate that the scheme offers a 79% reduction in energy use, 63% reduction in water use, and 58% reduction in embodied carbon, versus traditional construction.

“The new Founders Hall is an architectural and philosophical continuation of the interconnected spaces that LMN Architects has designed for the Foster School of Business over many years,” said LMN Architects principal Kate Westbrook. “It stands apart with an elevated focus on sustainability goals, social equity and inclusivity, and increased opportunities for community connection.”

The mass timber scheme’s completion comes at a time when the University of Washington is growing their Carbon Leadership Forum, with their search for embodied carbon researchers, recently the focus of our Job Highlights series. Separately, the institution recently partnered with NBBJ to explore ways of boosting creativity in hybrid workplaces.  

Founders Hall is also one of several recently completed projects to feature on our editorial. Last month, Foster + Partners completed the EU’s tallest building in Poland, as well as a pair of towers in Shenzhen for drone and camera company DJI. In France, MVRDV recently completed a ‘geological’ residential complex with 138 homes, while in Arkansas, Studio Gang applied the finishing touches to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts ahead of its 2023 opening.