Light-filled station provides new gateway for University and community

SEATTLE, March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — LMN Architects, a design practice known for creating impactful community-focused projects of all scales, today announced the opening of the new University of Washington Station, part of the Sound Transit regional light rail system. Knitting together transportation modalities from bike to bus to pedestrians to trains, the design of the 156,000-square foot station creates a unified transportation solution and provides a unique gateway to the University of Washington campus through its above and below-grade experiences. Based upon initial reports since its opening last week, ridership has exceeded previous Sound Transit projections for the new line.

The project includes a train platform 100 feet underground, accessed via escalators and elevators from a 2-level glass entrance structure at grade. The entrance structure frames views of the surrounding context, including Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains. The transparency of the structure also serves as a light well, allowing daylight to reach down to the mezzanine level. Descending to the train platform below, users pass through a tall, vertical circulation chamber featuring Subterraneum, an art installation by Leo Saul Berk, who worked in collaboration with LMN to blend architecture and sculpture in expressing the geological layers of soil surrounding the station walls.

“The UW Station and its associated public spaces afforded a terrific opportunity to connect this complex of major campus elements and urban pathways, resulting in a civic-centered approach to rail transit within the campus community” notes Mark Reddington, Design Partner with LMN.

The project also includes a new 400-foot-long concrete bicycle and pedestrian bridge that connects to both levels of the entrance structure via stairs, escalators and ramps, curving gently as it spans over Montlake Boulevard to land on the university campus.

“LMN’s work at the University of Washington Station beautifully and intricately navigates an almost unbelievably complex urban node,” says Rebecca Barnes, University Architect and Associate Vice Provost for Campus and Capital Planning at the University of Washington. “The outcome is a great architectural and urban design achievement borne of many acts of imaginative and insightful civic leadership.”

Project Team

Owner: Sound Transit
Design Consultant Team:
Prime Consultant: Northlink Transit Partners: McMillen Jacobs Associates, HNTB and AECOM
Architect: LMN Architects
Structural – Station: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Structural – Pedestrian Bridge: AECOM
Civil – Grading, utilities, roadway: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Civil – Site Drainage: AECOM
Landscape Architect: Swift Company
Station Mech/Elect/Fire Protection: HNTB
Mech/Emergency Ventilation System: AECOM
Traffic Consultant: Grijalva Engineering
Architectural Technical Facilities Coordination: Moniz Art & Architecture
Waterproofing/Groundwater Management: Dr G Sauer Corporation
Vertical Transportation: Lerch Bates Inc.
Acoustical Consultant: The Greenbusch Group
Artist: Leo Saul Berk
Lighting Design: Light Wire
Survey: TrueNorth
Systems Design: LTK Engineering Services

Construction Management: START: Seattle Tunnel and Rail Team
Contractor: Hoffman Construction Company

About LMN
Seattle-based LMN Architects specializes in the planning and design of significant public and private projects, including convention centers, cultural arts venues, education facilities, office buildings, multi-family residences, hospitality centers, mixed-use developments and other urban environments that celebrate and enrich communities. The firm is the recipient of the 2016 American Institute of Architects Architecture Firm Award. www.LMNArchitects.com

For further information please contact:
Matt Anderson
Anderson Strategic, Inc.
matt@andersonstrategic.net