Bush School – Upper School

Photo by Lara Swimmer

Work

Bush School – Upper School

First in Class: New sustainable education building on campus

Bush School added a three-story structure on their Upper School campus, which comprises of classrooms, administrative offices, study lounges, and an auditorium for 400 people. DCI Engineers modified the design when the owner switched from steel to a mass timber framing system utilizing exposed mass plywood panel (MPP) and glulam beams for the facility’s upper levels to achieve their sustainability goals.

The engineering team produced design plans for the foundation and tall below-grade auditorium level, below-grade equipment mezzanine, at-grade mild reinforcing and post-tensioned concrete floor framing, elevated mass timber floor and roof framing, stud and shear walls, and steel brace frame details

Location:

Seattle, Washington

Square Feet:

20,000

Stories:

Service:

Structural

Industries:

PK-12, Mass Timber, Sustainable Design

Primary Material:

Concrete, Wood

Project Highlights

The site challenges included protected trees and a steep landscape.
This educational building is a net zero energy facility, the first Salmon-Safe school in the country, and the first Passive House school in the West.
DCI also assisted with landscape and bioretention walls, the entry canopy and the rooftop mechanical screen.