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About the Project
The University of Washington (UW) Interdisciplinary Engineering Building (IEB) project in Seattle, WA, provides 72,000 square feet of hands-on learning and flexible instructional space, supporting over 950 new students across ten academic departments with offices and wet and dry modular labs. The IEB houses programming for leadership, diversity and access and provides dedicated space for student clubs and industry-sponsored capstone projects, strengthening connections between the University of Washington and industry partners.
The Hensel Phelps and Kieran Timberlake progressive design-build team delivered the building to showcase the UW’s commitment to advancing engineering education and research. The progressive design-build team built the IEB on an extremely constrained, hillside site within an active university campus of over 40,000 students.
Innovative construction solutions and careful coordination addressed the site’s challenges and minimized disruption to campus life, resulting in over $700k in project savings. The IEB project demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainability, achieving LEED Gold certification through a combination of innovative design strategies and thoughtful construction practices. The team worked through massing options that utilized the 60-ft elevation change across the site to their advantage, effectively meeting access/egress and ADA requirements. For example, due to the constrained site location, the team invested in the use of a tele belt to save on trucking costs, increase overall safety and maximize the use of a nearby parking lot.
Ultimately, through the power of progressive design-build, the team delivered a landmark facility that now serves as a vibrant gateway to the university’s engineering department, welcoming innovation, collaboration, and the next generation of engineers.
