Biotechnology Campus, Seattle WA, 2004
Published:
segdDESIGN magazine, 2006
Communication Arts magazine, 2004
wpa, inc. was responsible for all exterior and interior wayfinding along with an extensive interactive/interpretative graphics program for this 40-acre biotechnology campus in downtown Seattle, Washington.
The interior wayfinding system was employed for six buildings with a total square footage of 750,000. wpa toured the client's existing facilities before design work began. We observed the plethora of signs randomly attached to the entrances of the labs. In order to mitigate this condition, wpa designed a room identity system that organizes all the hazard signs, room id's and temporary information onto a 'sign band'. Each sign is attached with magnets. Offices, laboratories and conference rooms employ this system.
wpa proposed and designed interactive/interpretative elements throughout the campus. These include: The Stair Graphic; The 'Windows to the Labs'; The Transportation Corridor; The Main Lobby; Fitness Center; Watson and Crick Cafeteria; Mendels Coffee Bar; Rosalinds Company Store and The Glass Columns. All of the imagery and content was developed by wpa after extensive research on the topic of genetics.
The Stair Graphic is an internally illuminated image of DNA. The image was taken from Charles and Ray Eames film 'The Powers of Ten'. It is placed within a fractured wall and is 3-stories tall. The graphic provides a new way of seeing the basic element of genetics.
The 'Windows to the Labs' occur on three floors at three laboratory buildings - a total of nine locations. The idea was to provide a place for each lab to communicate their work to other labs and departments within the company. We designed window walls which set in front of the walls leading into each lab. We took images provided by the scientists for each lab and designed the graphics specific to the lab's work.
The Transportation Corridor is a tunnel which links all six buildings underground. The content we developed relates to tide levels that occur at that specific location. In our research, we learned that the mean high water is 3'-4" above the finished floor of the tunnel. The graphic includes the tide charts for all twelve months for 2003, water images, sea creatures and a nautical chart of Elliot Bay - the location of the campus.
Watson and Crick Cafeteria graphics depict details of nature specifically related to food. These graphics provide another experience to the scientific images used in the other interpretative graphics. Mendels Coffee Bar graphics employ images taken from TimeLife from the 1950's. These images depict coffee bean production from that era. Superimposed on the two images is a glossary of coffee terms.
The Main Lobby graphics display the products produced by the company in 11' tall by 9' wide vitrines. Stainless steel 'tongue depressors' hold the vials and injectors. Each vitrine contains 21 vials and one injector. A plaque describes the science behind the product. The patient portraits demonstrate the positive results of the drugs on individual's lives.
On the exterior, we designed three 40' high steel and Glass Columns which graphically depict how DNA translates into a protein. Each column represents one of the three phases, replication, transcription and translation. They are located at three strategic locations on the campus. The columns act as a wayfinding and educational device.
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