UW Campus Survey Project

As the University of Washington campus grows and develops according to the evolving needs of the institution, the City of Seattle is funding the Campus Survey Project as a means of creating cohesive documentation of over 200 buildings, twenty-five landscapes and fifty artworks that have been on the campus since 1975.

In order to complete the project, the University and City have enthusiastically employed several UW students for the work. This includes two graduates students from the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Departments to conduct the surveys and research, and a team of students for database input and GIS information research. Work by the students is being managed by an oversight committee that includes UW staff, the WA Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation, and the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. There are three Consultants on the project including Architectural Historian Mimi Sheridan with the University of Washington, Architectural Historian Connie Gray with Confluence Environmental Group, and Bola an architecture and preservation firm. Likewise, Landscape Architect Rachel Gleason from the firm Michael Van Valkenburgh, Inc. has been closely involved with the project.

The work for the project consists of an initial surveying of the current conditions of these pre-1975 buildings, landscapes, and artworks, as well as going through historic archives and records to compile an accurate and relevant history for each. This includes the designer, significant dates, and how they have changed over time. Once this information is gathered, it will be put into a database that will be available as a reference for the University and City. There will also be a cultural resources report created from the survey that will show how the University as a whole has evolved. As Connie Gray put it, “It will be nice to have documentation really geared towards the built environment to show how all of these trends of external happenings such as in the city or world affect the University’s built environment.”

This information will serve as a significant database both for research and future development projects. As the University’s campus fabric continues to change, it will allow for proactive consideration of their existing historic resources. Work for the project began in April of 2016 and is projected to be completed in the Fall of 2017.