AKA: University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Winkenwerder, Hugo, Forest Sciences Laboratory, Seattle, WA; University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Winkenwerder Hall, Seattle, WA

Structure Type: built works - public buildings - schools - university buildings

Designers: Baugh Construction Company, Building Contractors (firm); Dodd, Harvey, and Associates, Engineers (firm); Grant, Copeland and Chervenak and Associates, Architects (firm); R. H. Baugh (building contractor); Robert Allan Chervenak (architect); Ross Winnan Copeland Jr. (architect); Harvey Dodd (engineer); Austin Grant (architect)

Dates: constructed 1962-1963

3 stories

view all images ( of 1 shown)

3712 Garfield Place NE
University of Washington Campus, Seattle, WA 98195

OpenStreetMap (new tab)
Google Map (new tab)
click to view google map
Google Streetview (new tab)
click to view google map

Overview

Three buildings made up the University of Washington's Department of Forestry's portion of the campus, Anderson Hall (1925), Winkenwerder Hall, and Bloedel Hall. These three buildings set on the southeast periphery of campus, made up a quiet and wooded ensemble, oriented around a placid central courtyard. Winkenwerder Hall, a dramatric demonstration of the potential of forest products, has been known under three names: during design and construction, it was referred to as the UWForest Products Science Building; after its completion in 1963, it was named for the Forestry Department's second Dean, Hugh A. Winkenwerder (1878-1947), a graduate of the pioneering Yale Forest School, and called the "Winkenwerder Forest Sciences Laboratory;" finally, in 1972, the building's name was shortened to "Winkenwerder Hall." It remains one of the best examples of non-residential Regional Modern architecture in the Puget Sound region.

Building Notes

The Hugo Winkenwerder Forest Sciences Laboratory was completed in 1963.

Harvey R. Dodd and Associates served as the structural engineer, working with the Baugh Construction Company, the general contractor.

Architects were Ross W. Copeland, Jr., (1917-2002), Austin Grant (1918-2013) and Robert A. Chervenak (1924-2010). They summarized the main influences on the building's final design: "The two major shaping forces that led to the glue-laminated structural system were the appropriate working environment created by the use of wood and the limited budget which precluded the materials relating the building to a collegiate-Gothic campus. The fortunate factor of a site in a grove of fir trees, with a cover so dense it is almost impossible to photograph the building, softens the relationship to its campus neighbors. An important objective was for the occupants to see the material they were working with in its natural and finished state and possibly feel as though they were working within a tree." (See "Award of Merit Grant, Copeland Chervenak & Associates," AIA Journal, vol. XLVI, no. 1, 07/1966, p. 38.)

The space was designed to be open and reconfigurable. The architects stated: "Optimum flexibility had a marked effect on the building. With the exception of the corridor walls which service the laboratories, any wall can be moved. Manifestation of this is reflected in the exterior where bent struts maintain lateral strength for wind and earthquake forces and replace the normal shear walls." (See "Award of Merit Grant, Copeland Chervenak & Associates," AIA Journal, vol. XLVI, no. 1, 07/1966, p. 38.)

A notable feature of the exterior was the brise soleil that was located outside second-floor windows: "The sunscreen was designed to maintain a controlled environment for minor instrumentation within the graduate students' room; major experimentation is done within the general laboratory spaces. The screen also protects the building from temperature extremes." (See "Award of Merit Grant, Copeland Chervenak & Associates," AIA Journal, vol. XLVI, no. 1, 07/1966, p. 38.)

Building Notes

WInkenwerder Hall won an Award of Merit from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1966, one of nine awarded that year.

Engineer and sculptor Dudley C. Carter (1891-1992), whose work was strongly influenced by Northwest American Indian art, carved bas reliefs on the main entry doors of Winkenwerder Hall.

PCAD id: 7318