University of Washington Home to a New Mass Timber Building

The Seattle campus of the University of Washington is now the home of Founders Hall, the new location of the Foster School of Business. According to the project’s design architect LMN Architects, the 84,800 square foot mass timber building was designed to create a new hub for community, entrepreneurship, and innovation.

Founders Hall is the first new building to meet the University of Washington Green Building Standards, reducing carbon emissions by 90%. The design takes advantage of Seattle’s weather by integrating natural and mechanical ventilation to provide a comfortable environment for users with minimal reliance on conditioned air. As an integrated element in both the interior and exterior expression, the building incorporates a mass timber structure with cross-laminated timber decking. This reflects the Foster School’s connection to the Northwest and the local wood products industry, also reducing the building’s embodied carbon by almost 60%.

The design creates an intersection of three volumes hosting student-focused team collaboration spaces, program offices, classrooms, and gathering spaces, all connected by a five-story steel and wood feature staircase that weaves through the mass timber structure.