University of Washington New Burke Museum

Seattle, WA

University of Washington New Burke Museum

Built to replace an existing natural history museum, this LEED Gold building offers 12 labs and workrooms, six galleries, collection storage areas, a workshop for artists on three levels, and a street-level café, and transformed a sloping site into a leveled terrace. MKA’s steel-frame structure includes stiffened, steel-plate canopies up to 20 ft long and exposed steel-frame stairs supporting a Coast Salish-inspired roof. The new museum is 66% larger than the original building, with climate-controlled collection storage areas that allow for future growth. A key design aspect is “maximum transparency,” creating an immersive visitor experience by revealing behind-the-scenes research and preservation. MKA’s civil site design for the 5.6-acre block features the new museum flanked by updated street frontage improvements, accessible courtyard plazas, and pedestrian paths, while terraced steps connect visitors to a landscaped terrace abundant with native Pacific Northwest meadow plantings. The design also incorporates onsite stormwater management facilities in the form of cascading bioretention planters and ponds that mimic natural processes to manage stormwater runoff.