Washington State History Museum

This 106,000 sf facility is located adjacent to the historic Union Station in Tacoma, Washington. The building design grew out of a competition by architects Charles Moore and Arthur Andersson of Austin Texas. Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen collaborated with Moore/Andersson from schematic design through the project’s completion in 1996.

The project required extensive urban design elements, including considerations for the University of Washington’s Tacoma Campus, the historic fabric of this warehouse district, the Station, and planning for the Chihuly Bridge of Glass.

The design called for a strong contextual response to the existing domed station. The solution was a series of vaults, connected by a single longitudinal vault to form a series of intersecting groins. The building plans incorporate a permanent exhibit of over 20,000 sf, chronicling the history of the state from geologic times to the present as well as large spaces dedicated to temporary exhibits.

Featured in Architectural Record, October 1996
Northwest Masonry Award, 1997

This project was designed by Moore/Andersson Architects. Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen, executive architects. Scott Allen, executive principal in collaboration with Rick Sundberg. Timothy Hursley, photography.