Space Optimization
for Community Strength
Defining the next generation campus for first generation student success
CHALLENGE
By 2021 new leadership and the impacts of a global pandemic prompted UW Bothell, a 6,000 student campus serving mostly commuter students, to reevaluate its expensive bricks and mortar growth plans in the face of new paradigms.
APPROACH
MKThink worked with UWB leadership and stakeholders to define and prioritize strategies and projects to improve the community experience without relying on new construction. Using its qualitative and quantitative analytic framework, MKThink developed a comprehensive understanding of UW Bothell’s current space inventory, use profiles, space and operational needs to reset the University’s baseline planning assumptions, envision new potential futures, and re-prioritize upcoming planning, design, and construction projects.
RESULT
MKThink identified 123,000 gross square feet of underutilized office, library and bookstore space that could be deployed towards student- centered activities, resulting in up to $148M in avoided construction costs.
By optimizing instructional capacity through scheduling and right-sizing strategies, MKThink identified the ability of the current campus footprint to support 2.5x the current enrollment without new construction.
By activating 24,500 square feet. of underutilized ground level space on the campus promenade, UW Bothell will be able to facilitate community interaction, student service delivery, and increase time spent on campus for commuting and residential students alike.
The proposed projects and project roadmap lend the campus flexibility to adapt to a range of possible futures.
CLIENT
University of Washington, Bothell
SERVICES
Campus Needs Assessment
Space Optimization Plan
LOCATION
Bothell, Washington
SIZE/SCALE
1 MM GSF
MARKET
Higher Education
ACCOUNT HISTORY