An earlier firm had proposed flat roof structures with metal siding. After comments from several focus groups of UWB and community college faculty, NBBJ took a different approach. A stone amphitheater is sure to be a gathering spot for students on sunny days. We took the notion of a large, expansive roof with an expressed structure holding it up. The result is a lot of visual interest and texture.
Many lodges have front rooms with large windows overlooking a natural feature.
The new campus also borrows this concept with its library reading room, a glass-enclosed space that juts out of its building and overlooks the wetlands. At night freeway drivers will see it lit up, a symbolic beacon of learning for busy Eastside commuters. So far, the design has gotten raves from those who will live in it. All that reading room needs is a hearth and a fireplace. Inside, each building is fully wired for current and future technologies.