AKA: Western Washington University (WWU), Mathes Hall, Bellingham, WA; Western Washington University, Northwest Dormitory Complex, Bellingham, WA
Structure Type: built works - public buildings - schools - university buildings
Designers: Klein, Henry, Architect (firm); Henry Klein (architect); Folke E. Nyberg (architect)
Dates: constructed 1965-1966
9 stories
Overview
Designed to accommodate 300 students, all rooms within Mathes Hall were designed for double occupancy. The building had a modified double-loaded arrangement, with bedrooms arranged in a V-shape on either side of a central bathroom core. One wall of the V facing south was straight and overlooked the Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest to the east. The wall looking out on Bellingham Bay to the north and west curved, resembling precedents in Scandinavia by Alvar Aalto and others. On the first floor, a square room on the southwest housed a large lounge with a piano and various seating areas.
Building Notes
The other hall in this Northwest Dormitory Complex of Western Washington University was Nash Hall, also done by Henry Klein; working in association with Klein on these two projects, Folke Nyberg Design Associates and George Wallace, contributed to the site planning, interior design, facade design and fenestration.
In 2017, Mathes Hall had a main lounge with a fireplace, television lounge, ninth floor sundeck, study room, game room with pool and table tennis tables, and computer lab. Each floor possessed a single-sex restroom, kitchenette and lounge. Even-numbered floors were reserved for women, odd, for men in 2017.
Alteration
Mathes Hall underwent a renovation in 2013.
PCAD id: 4898