Seminar II Building, The Evergreen State College
Olympia, Wash.
Mahlum Architects

Mahlum Architects designs five linked structures that form an intimate learning community and preserve a forested setting

© Lara Swimmer/Esto

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By John Pastier

While not the newest campus in Washington’s public higher-education system, The Evergreen State College is still the state’s most experimental and unconventional one. The school offers intriguing multidisciplinary courses, subject concentrations rather than academic majors, and personalized evaluations in lieu of letter grades. Environmental advocacy and social responsibility lie at the core of many of its programs. Founded in 1971 and sited in a secluded, forested setting near Olympia, the school’s concrete Brutalist buildings, typical of college architecture of the era, were built before Evergreen’s identity was clearly defined. The Seminar II Building, designed by Seattle’s Mahlum Architects, is the first major new structure on campus in 33 years and the first to properly reflect and serve its academic program.

The university wanted a multifunctional building on an infill site southeast of the library and the main campus plaza, known affectionately as “Red Square.” The building’s program was ambitious, encompassing lecture halls, classrooms, seminar rooms, faculty and administrative offices, informal breakout spaces, outdoor teaching areas, labs, studios, and a café. School officials mandated that the structure be both flexible and sustainable, incorporating daylighting and natural ventilation and preserving the natural setting.

Mahlum Architects accommodated the complex program in five linked, nearly identical, semi-independent buildings, or academic clusters, totaling 168,000 square feet. Three of the clusters reflect the main campus grid, whereas two are aligned with the compass to offer views of the site and capture daylight.

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Formal name of Project:
Seminar II Building, The Evergreen State College

Location:
Olympia, Wash.

Gross square footage:
168,000 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$32.5 Million

Owner:
The Evergreen State College (TESC)
www.evergreen.edu

Architect:
Mahlum Architects
71 Columbia, Suite 400
Seattle, WA 98104
206.441.4151 p
206.441.0478 f
www.mahlum.com