AKA: University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Faculty Center #2, Seattle, WA

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

Designers: Eckbo, Dean and Williams, Landscape Architects (firm); Ivarsson, Sigmund, Structural Engineer (firm); Kirk, Paul Hayden, FAIA and Associates (firm); McKinstry, Joseph, Construction Company (firm); Steinbrueck, Victor, Architect (firm); Streissguth, Daniel, Architect (firm); Wick Construction Company (firm); Francis Dean (landscape architect); Garrett N. Eckbo (landscape architect); Sigmund Ivarsson (structural engineer); Paul Hayden Kirk (architect); David A. McKinley Jr. (architect); Joseph McKinstry (building contractor); Victor Eugene Steinbrueck (architect); Daniel Michener Streissguth (architect); Gordon Bennett Varey (architect); Peter D. Wick Sr. (building contractor); Wayne Richard Williams (architect)

Dates: constructed 1958-1960

2 stories

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4020 East Stevens Way NE
University of Washington Seattle Campus, Seattle, WA 98195

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Building History

UW Architecture Professor, Victor Steinbrueck (1911-1985), and the Seattle architectural firm, Paul Hayden Kirk and Associates, collaborated on the design of the Faculty Club, overlooking Lake Washington. (Both architects graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Washington.) They built the club around a central courtyard, which is actually little-used, and oriented the building to maximize the spectacular views of Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountain Range to the east. Other members of the construction team included: Sigmund Ivarsson, Structural Engineer; James B. Notkin and Associates, Mechanical Engineers; Thomas E. Sparling and Associates, Electrical Engineers; Eckbo, Dean and Williams, Landscape Architects; Wick Construction Company, Building Contractor;

Building Notes

The Faculty Club occupies the land on which stood the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition's Hoo Hoo House. Seattle architect Ellsworth Prime Storey (1879-1960) designed this log structure for the lumberman's fraternal organization, International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo, established in 1892.

The Faculty Club won design awards given by both the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). In 1961, the AISC bestowed recognition on the club during its Architectural Awards of Excellence Program. The Steel Construction Digestindicated in a 1961 article: “The steel structure, with steel T-decks exposed on the interior, gives the building a feeling of permanence and structural elegance as well as meeting required fire ratings and stringent economic considerations.” (This information from Marga Rose Hancock, email to the author, 09/26/2013.)

Marga Rose Hancock, Kathryn Merlino and others staged an exhibition on the building's history in 09/2013 at the club, celebrating its acceptance to the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington Heritage Register. Victor Steinbrueck's son, Peter, spoke at an exhibition reception.

One of the engaged column capitals in the Faculty Club #2's courtyard garden came from the United States Government, Courthouse, Custom House and Post Office at Union Street and 3rd Avenue in Downtown Seattle.

Alteration

Plans to expand the size of the faculty club in 1967 were scrapped due to a lack of funding. Paul Hayden Kirk produced plans for this expansion, while Steinbrueck had been in England. When he became appraised of Kirk, Wallace and McKinley's plans for the addition, Steinbrueck objected to them on three grounds: 1.) The addition was too large for the original building's scale. 2.) Expansion of the dining rooms in the addition would "...make a too elongated hall with the present space extended for another 54' for a total length 148' with a width of only 30'. It would be outrageous if used together. 3.) "The proposed lower floor Meeting Room with access only from the outside is ridiculous as a useful concept for faculty meetings." (See Victor Steinbrueck, Letter to Paul Hayden Kirk, 02/08/1867, published in Anne L. Lindsay, The Evolution of the Faculty Club on the University of Washington Campus 1909 through Present, M.A. Thesis, University of Washington, Department of Architecture, [Seattle: University of Washington, 1987], p. 112.)

The UW Faculty Club's south porch was enclosed in 1967. Partitions were added to the south side of the main floor Dining Room in 1970, creating two potentially independent dining spaces. Separate men's and women's lounges, present in the original design, were integrated in 1971. A salad bar was introduced in 1976, which has been removed. To add year-around meeting space, a proposal to cover the central atrium court was floated in 1980. The upper women's lounge was converted into a music room/library in 1981. In that year, alterations occurred to accommodate handicapped guests, including the installation of a wheel chair elevator on the stairway. The original billiard room in the basement was repurposed into a conference room in 1982.

In 1983, administrators of the club revived plans for expansion. As part of this reappraisal of the club's space, Prof. Thomas Bosworth had a studio architecture class study expansion plans. Two years later, a 10% surcharge was added to members' fees to pay for a future expansion. Prof. Galen Minah led an architecture studio studying expansion plans in 1986. (See Anne L. Lindsay, The Evolution of the Faculty Club on the University of Washington Campus 1909 through Present, M.A. Thesis, University of Washington, Department of Architecture, [Seattle: University of Washington, 1987], p. 116-117.)

Alterations were made to the faculty bar area c. 2005. Work was done by the Joseph McKinstry Construction Company.

Washington Heritage Register: ID n/a

National Register of Historic Places (Listed 2016): 16000464 NRHP Images (pdf) NHRP Registration Form (pdf)

PCAD id: 3652