The UW Tower is a high-rise
office building
An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...
complex located in the
University District University District can refer to a location in the United States:
*University District, Detroit, Michigan
* University District, Columbus, Ohio
*University District, San Bernardino, California
*University District, Seattle
The University District ...
of
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, United States. It was completed in 1975 and serves as the head offices of the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
. The 22-story tower was designed by
NBBJ. It reaches a height of , making it Seattle's tallest building outside the
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
area.
The tower was originally constructed as Safeco Plaza to serve as
Safeco Insurance
Safeco Insurance, a member of Liberty Mutual Group, is an American insurance company. It held the naming rights to the Seattle Mariners' baseball stadium Safeco Field from its opening in 1999 through the end of the 2018 season.
History
Safec ...
's headquarters. It was generally referred to as the Safeco Building. Safeco sold the property to the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
in 2006 for $130 million,
and moved out one year later.
The purchase from Safeco included Safeco Tower, three adjacent buildings, a residential building with 29 units, two parking garages and two surface
parking lot
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...
s.
Presently the university properties consist of the UW Tower itself, Buildings A, C, O, and S, the Collegiana building, two garages, and two surface lots.
Architecture
The tower and surrounding complex were designed by Robert Sowder of
Naramore, Bain, Brady and Johanson, a Seattle-based architecture firm. Its exterior uses a mix of precast concrete and terracotta elements in "earth tones" to match other buildings in the area. The tower sits on a series of octagonal columns that rise from the street-level plaza, which sits under part of the structure.
Tenants
Although much of the building is used for administrative purposes, various schools and departments at the University of Washington, especially the medical sciences, have offices in the UW Tower. These include UW Information Technology (UW-IT), the UW Payroll Office, University Advancement and Professional and Continuing Education.
Gallery
File:Mt. Baker and UW Tower.jpg, UW Tower with Mount Baker
Mount Baker (Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount ...
in the background
File:UW Tower.jpg, UW Tower in 2009
File:Seattle - Hotel Deca & UW Tower.jpg, Hotel Deca
Graduate Seattle is an Art Deco hotel tower in Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both ...
(''left'') and UW Tower (''right'')
File:Hawaiian Chieftain on Lake Union 01.jpg, UW Tower pictured from Lake Union
Lake Union is a freshwater lake located entirely within the city limits of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a major part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which carries fresh water from the much larger Lake Washington on the east to ...
References
External links
*
{{University of Washington
Skyscraper office buildings in Seattle
University of Washington
University District, Seattle