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The four-story project at Western Washington University will be the first publicly funded, zero-energy structure on a college campus in the state.
Published May 25, 2023
Mortenson Construction broke ground on the $73.6 million Kaiser Borsari Hall on Western Washington University’s campus May 20.
Courtesy of Perkins & Will
Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction broke ground May 20 on the $73.6 million Kaiser Borsari Hall on Western Washington University’s campus in Bellingham, Washington, the company announced Monday.
The future electrical and computer engineering, energy science and computer science facility will be the first publicly funded, zero-energy building on a university campus in Washington state, according to a release shared with Construction Dive.
Alumni, elected officials and leaders from design firm Perkins & Will and Mortenson joined WWU alumni and leadership to turn dirt Saturday.
The four-story, 54,000-square-foot facility targets zero carbon and zero energy certifications through the International Living Future Institute, according to Mortenson’s project page. Combining green building guidelines with a mass timber/cross-laminated timber structure will reduce the environmental impact of the project, Mortenson claims.
“It has been incredibly rewarding to be a part of our team’s collective efforts to reduce embodied and operational carbon for this facility throughout design and construction,” Jennifer Kim, Mortenson project executive, said in a statement. “We love taking collaborative approaches with clients like WWU to provide value-add solutions for identifying the best sustainably focused opportunities early on — and we can’t wait to start building this first-of-its-kind facility while also tackling our own personal sustainability efforts on site.”
Stakeholders anticipate the project will be delivered in early 2025, according to WWU’s website.