Skip to main content

Project Profile: Health Sciences Education Building

Published 12/13/2023
Previous Next

The Health Sciences Education Building at the University of Washington collocates dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, and social work to create a collaborative environment and an entrance to the university’s South Campus, the heart of the health sciences research, academic, and clinical programs at the university.

The interior design of the four-story facility stresses wellness over a sterile environment, with spaces that are flexible enough to adapt as the programs change. Large classrooms designed for active and team-based learning accommodate up to 140 students, while small breakout rooms are perfect for groups of eight.

Classrooms are equipped with technology that supports multiple modes of education: lecture capture, remote participation, and live connectivity with other spaces on campus and at other institutions. Opportunities include the virtual study of anatomy, in tandem with more traditional cadaver study. This also provides students with the training needed to provide telehealth appointments in the future. This technology is particularly vital at the University of Washington School of Medicine because it is part of a cooperative arrangement with medical schools in the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho to support medical education.

Specialized spaces in the facility include:

  • Anatomy lab that combines both traditional cadaver dissection with high-tech Anatomage tables that provide detailed 3D digital renderings of the body, including about 1,000 pathological samples 
  • Fifteen classrooms with interactive technology 
  • Clinical skills lab suite that offers practical experience to students in all six disciplines, working in both large and small groups
  • Li Lu Library 
  • Gaylene Bouska Altman and Leonard Charles Altman Student Lounge, where students can relax and interact casually with each other outside of the classrooms, labs, and clinics
  • Multiple meeting and study spaces 
  • Private wellness rooms
  • Active learning classrooms

The building itself is dedicated to wellness on a larger scale, with sustainability features that include a regional stormwater infrastructure offering a way to provide day-to-day water treatment for 34 acres of south campus; electrochromic glazing that responds and adjusts to sunlight; and cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure in floor and roof assemblies, which reduced the embodied carbon impact of the structural decking system by 50%.

Project Owner
University of Washington

Seattle, WA
United States

Completion
October 2022
100000 GSF
54000 NSF
Construction Cost
$78,400,000.00
Project Cost
$99,600,000.00
Project Type
Delivery Methods
Organization Project Role
The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP
Lead Designer/Architect of Record
The S/L/A/M Collaborative
Collaborating Medical Education Architect
Lease Crutcher Lewis
Contractor
The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP
Interior Design
Catalyst Furniture
Interior Design
GGN
Landscape Architect
KPFF Consulting Engineers
Civil & Structural Engineer
PAE
Mechanical & Plumbing Engineer
Hermanson Company, LLP
Mechanical & Plumbing Subcontractor
Hargis
Electrical Engineer
Cochrane Electric
Electrical Subcontractor
Hargis
Lighting Design
Tenor
Acoustical Consultant
Mayer-Reed
Environmental Graphics
Shannon & Wilson Inc
Geotechnical
Studio Pacifica
Accessibility
Cochrane Electric
Theatrical/AV
Dimensional
Theatrical/AV
EEI
Commissioning
4EA
Commissioning
Acrylicize
Public Art
CPP, Inc.
Wind Analysis
The Greenbusch Group
Vertical Transportation
Mayer-Reed
Signage
KONE Inc.
Elevators
Mopec Inc.
Anatomy Lab Equipment
Heartland
Ceilings and SAPs
Landscape Forms
Site Furnishings
Olympian Precast
Precast Stair Treads
PBS Supply, Inc.
Interior Specialties
Skagit Architectural Millwork
Podiums
H2I Group
Lab Casework
Northstar
Casework
Sunsteel
Steel Supply
Pacific Stair
Stairs