Gates Foundation Plans Campus Expansion

Since 2011, two boomerang-like buildings have housed the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation campus near Seattle Center. Last week, the Foundation announced plans to build a third building, breaking ground in the fall of 2019 with an estimated completion date of Spring 2022.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Building, Seattle

The new building, designed by NBBJ,  will retain its predecessors’ distinctive curved shape, which is intended to provide the square footage of a traditional downtown office building with better access to windows. This feature is designed not only brightens the worker’s day, but also to cut energy costs; NBBJ aims to have the building LEED-platinum certified for sustainability by the United States Green Building Council.

The new space will include room for an additional 800 employees, as well as new meeting areas and expanded parking. Bill and Melinda Gates intend to finance the expansion in part through personal wealth. The couple started the private foundation, now the largest of its kind, in 2000 with the goal of alleviating world poverty.