This new library and culinary arts commons building will be the new home for the college’s culinary arts, library and tutoring departments. The design includes a new library, learning labs, tutoring center, and community gathering spaces, as well as up-to-date equipment and laboratory space for the culinary arts program. The single-story building will serve as a gateway to campus, welcoming students with primary entry points to help them navigate.
At the onset of Schematic Design, the building was initially envisioned as mass timber. However, due to the complexities of the design, steel emerged as the most competitive material for the project. Through collaboration with the architect and an open mind to structural systems, the team arrived at a solution involving open web joists on glulam beams and columns, with steel incorporated in select locations to address shear wall requirements—a solution that meets both the structural design needs and the architectural vision.
The building was also designed to be open and connect to the surrounding area, reflecting the Skagit Valley’s agrarian landscape and community in its layout and palette.
News & Recognition
Seattle DJC – Skagit Valley College plans a new campus ‘front door’
