Western’s new hall to be only carbon-neutral academic facility in the region
Construction is expected to begin this month on a new building on Western Washington University’s campus.
Kaiser Borsari Hall will be the university’s new electrical and computer engineering, energy science, and computer science building.
The new building will be located east of the communications facility on the site of the 17G parking lot.
The total cost of the new facility is about $73.6 million. The Washington State Legislature is providing $53 million for the project. The Western Washington University Foundation’s “Building Washington’s Future” capital campaign is raising the rest of the funding through private contributions.
Building design
It will be connected by a sky bridge to “maximize program efficiencies and increase collaboration opportunities,” according to Western’s Capital Planning and Development Department.
The 54,000-square-foot building will feature teaching labs, learning research labs, active learning classrooms, collaborative space and academic administrative space. The spaces are designed to support people with diverse abilities and learning styles.
The all-electric building will have solar panels on the roof and use local wood in its construction.
Once it is complete, the building is expected to be the only carbon-neutral academic facility in the region, according to Capital Planning and Development.
Construction is expected to begin on March 20 and will likely continue through 2024. Completion is expected in early 2025.
Parking and traffic impacts
▪ Parking lot 17G will be closed during the duration of construction.
▪ Parking lots 19G and 9G will have ADA parking.
▪ Parking lot 12G on South College Drive has 131 new parking spaces.
▪ Intermittent lane closures on East College Way may cause delays and congestion.
▪ By mid-April, the section of the pedestrian path south of the Academic Instructional Center between the surface and tunnel crossings from Fairhaven will be closed for utility trenching.
▪ The sidewalk on East College Drive and the path from the tunnel crossing will remain open during the path closure.
This story was originally published March 14, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
