University of Washington Bothell | Cascadia College

OPEN GALLERY

Highlights

• Site – 135 acres; Building – 820,000 gsf
• This is the most comprehensive look, assessment, and vision of the campus since the campus was initially created more than 20 years ago.
• This is the only campus in the state that is shared equally by two institutions of higher education.
• The plan focuses near-term development at the campus core while seeking to grow northward over time.

Perspectives

University of Washington Bothell (UWB) and Cascadia College (CC) are co-located on a 135-acre campus east of downtown Bothell, WA. In 20 short years, the two institutions evolved from two 2-year institutions to two growing, interconnected baccalaureate campuses with intertwined student amenities and exploding student enrollment. No longer a small commuter campus, both institutions now have an increased demand for not only more academic buildings, but for housing and 24/7 student resources to support a robust living and learning environment in a unique shared campus setting.

The goal of this plan was to understand the campus’s physical capacity for growth and create a new framework that was both aspirational and regulatory to guide future development. The planning process was also an important opportunity to forge lasting relationships between UWB, CC, and the City of Bothell.

A robust public outreach process was held over a one-year period including 17 community meetings, social media outreach to over 5,000 constituents, and collaboration with six public agencies. The result is a comprehensive master plan that establishes a campus-wide development allowance for academic building area in gross square feet, distributed throughout campus within five unique development areas, and a parking allowance outlining the maximum number of parking stalls provided on campus. The plan has created a set of Design Principles for new development which are illustrated through a series of frameworks relative to the built environment and open space, mobility, and utilities and infrastructure. These Design Principles evolve from, reinforce, and support, six Guiding Principles. While the Design Principles seek to support the Guiding Principles, Campus District Regulations define conformance with, or departure from, the City of Bothell Municipal Code relative to allowed uses, height limits, buffers, setbacks, maximum GSF per development area, vegetation, light and glare, noise, odors, parking, wetland restoration, signs and banners, stormwater, and telecommunications. These requirements, as part of the plan, will ultimately shape the final outcome of this campus, providing the road map for growth of up to 10,000 FTE students.

Project Team

Mahlum Architects; also Walker Macy; Otak; Glumac and Associates; JMB Consulting Group; Transpo Group; EA Engineers; Tree Solutions