Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering
University of Washington

Location

Seattle, Washington

Owner

University of Washington

Collaborators +

Project Size

138,760 square feet

Project Status

Completed

Certifications

Targeting LEED New Construction Silver

Services

Architecture, Interior Design, Planning

The Bill & Melinda Gates Center doubles the capacity of the University’s School of Computer Science and establishes a new standard for the study of computer science to attract a broad and diverse student population. The building enhances the School’s connections to the campus, community, and thriving local technology sector, and through its spatial and programmatic synergies with the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science, creates a new hub of interdisciplinary research and learning.

The building presents a strategic counterpoint to the minimalist, often austere, aesthetic popularized by the tech industry by offering a warm and welcoming environment for students and faculty. The program includes classrooms, an undergraduate commons, capstone workrooms, graduate research spaces, robotics laboratory, faculty/staff offices, a 240-seat lecture hall, a rooftop event center, and a street-level café. The core program elements—research spaces and offices—are arranged around a central atrium and are deliberately intermingled across the upper three floors to encourage serendipitous interaction.

The central atrium provides visual and physical connections across the building and functions as the School’s cultural heart. The design serves to encourage interaction between students and researchers, furthering the department’s reputation for innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The site design unites the surrounding engineering buildings through an integrated plaza, enhancing pedestrian connections, and creating a major campus connection along the northern edge of the building.