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Published:
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Cascadia to add center for global learning, arts
By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor
Cascadia Community College in Bothell plans to break ground in January on a 53,400-square-foot Center for Global Learning and the Arts as part of strategic initiatives to foster a global perspective on campus as well as serve the greater community.
The $32.6 million project funded through the state will include classrooms, language and computer labs, art studios, a gallery and a theater capable of seating as many as 250 people, said Dee Sliney, Cascadia’s director of auxiliary services and capital projects.
“The Showbox, the large auditorium, will be used by the campus as well as the neighboring areas,” Sliney said, adding that the project also includes a plaza for the use of the college, the campus and the community.
“My favorite part about the (building) is that it will be the first LEED-certified building in the area,” she said. While the project is required by the state of Washington to achieve LEED Silver sustainability standards, “we’re hoping to achieve a LEED Gold standard.”
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the U.S. Green Building Council’s benchmark system for the sustainability of a building’s design, construction and operation.
For the Center for Global Learning and the Arts, sustainable aspects will include vegetation-covered roofs, or “green roofs,” as well as a rainwater collection system, with the water from that system used for flushing toilets, Sliney said. Natural lighting has been incorporated into the design, and the project will use many natural and local products.
“We’re hoping to use the lumber that comes down from the area into that building or for benches surrounding the area,” she said.
Inside the building, school officials plan to further enhance Cascadia’s global studies opportunities, said Nader Nazemi, a political science instructor.
“Different disciplines with a global focus would be able to pursue global learning at the center,” said Nazemi, chair of the Global Human Rights Alliance, a group of faculty, students and staff that has encouraged the development of a global studies endorsement and degree at the college.
In the fall, Cascadia introduced its global studies endorsement, a 45-credit program whose requirements include 10 credits of foreign language; five credits for service learning, study abroad or an internship; and 30 credits in natural sciences, social sciences or humanities.
“The endorsement is a stepping stone to a degree. By 2008, we will have a full-fledged global studies degree,” Nazemi said.
“Recognize that a global studies degree is not unique in college, even at the community college level. What is unique in our agenda is that it is truly interdisciplinary in nature,” he said. “Typically, global studies programs emphasize the humanities role. ... In our vision, an equally important role can be played by math, natural sciences and information technology.”
The building is scheduled to open in fall 2009, Sliney said. Hoffman Construction has been selected as the general contractor and construction manager. Seattle-based Miller-Hull is the architectural firm for the project.
Cascadia, which opened in 2000, is co-located with the University of Washington, Bothell, on 128 acres just northwest of the intersection of Interstate 405 and State Route 522. The college serves more than 2,500 students each quarter.
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