FDO home

Welcome to the new FDO website

Our new site covers services from Facilities Management, Capital Planning & Development, and Central Services, which have now combined into Facilities Development & Operations. 

You can make a maintenance request, learn about ongoing projects and construction impacts, report a problem in a building or on the grounds, ask for help designing a new space or developing a capital project, arrange an office or departmental move, or download a floor plan.

We're your one-stop shop for all facilities, space planning, capital budget, grounds, and moving needs. Just let us know how we can help.

FEATURED PROJECTS & STUDIES

Capital Development & Strategic Vision Plan

The Capital Development and Strategic Vision Plan will establish a campus vision for the next 10-15 years and guide ongoing decision making around capital planning and development, campus open space, and infrastructure in a manner that aligns with the values, goals, and strategic vision of Western Washington University. The completed Capital Development & Strategic Vision Plan will guide how we improve and modernize our physical spaces on campus and will serve as a basis for updating the Institutional Master Plan, done in partnership with the City of Bellingham and other community groups. The current 10-year capital plan anticipates that much of the development will be focused on renovation and modernization. 

The Plan will assess programmatic space and facility needs across campus, study existing facilities for their suitability to meet these needs and aim to establish a sequence for the next several biennia of projects, including strategies for developing swing space to allow for the likely relocation, whether temporary or permanent, of programs currently housed in each of those buildings. 

For more information about the scoping and planning process, please visit the Capital Development & Strategic Vision Plan web page.

Construction Alerts

Kaiser Borsari Hall

March 20, 2023 - December 15, 2024

Construction has begun on Kaiser Borsari Hall, Western’s new electrical engineering and computer science building. See link above for details and updates.

Architect's rendering of the east elevation of Kaiser Borsari Hall

Kaiser Borsari Hall Wins Holcim Bronze Award

At a ceremony in Venice, Italy, on November 18, 2023, the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction awarded Western Washington University’s Kaiser Borsari Hall project and the design team at Perkins&Will a “Bronze Award” for the North American region, one of only two projects in the United States and the only university building globally to win a Holcim Award this year. The Holcim Awards recognize “diverse and innovative real-world approaches to creating a more sustainable built environment.” 

“We are honored by this international recognition for Kaiser Borsari Hall and are so grateful to our partners at Perkins&Will and Mortenson for their excellent work bringing the vision to life,” said Joyce Lopes, Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs. “We are strongly committed to reducing our carbon footprint at Western and hope that Kaiser Borsari Hall can serve as inspiration and prototype for more sustainable buildings on university campuses across the country.”

Kaiser Borsari Hall is designed to meet the International Living Future Institute’s “smart building” standards, the first university STEM building in the United State to track zero energy and zero carbon certification through the institute. It will achieve a 63% reduction in embodied carbon over conventional construction methods and a 100% reduction in operational carbon, using a mass timber structure and rooftop solar panels for on-site energy generation. The Holcim Awards 2023 Jury for North America noted, “The project considers functionality and sustainability, and successfully pushes boundaries for the integration of engineering systems and energy storage.”

The location of the site adjacent to the Sehome Arboretum allows the use of native and climate-adaptive plants to form a habitat bridge between the arboretum and the campus core. The landscaping will also help reduce stormwater runoff and outdoor water use. 

Kaiser Borsari Hall will house electrical and computer engineering, energy science, including the nation’s only undergraduate program in energy studies, and computer science. Its high-performance design will serve as a living laboratory for cross-disciplinary collaboration and hands-on learning. Construction is scheduled for completion in early 2025. 

Dark Skies Lighting Comes to Western

Aerial view of campus lit up at night

For the millions of birds that travel at night, sometimes the darkest path is the most inviting.

Along the periphery of campus, Western has replaced more than 200 light fixtures to comply with standards set out by the International Dark Sky Association to reduce the impact of artificial light at night on migratory animals and to save energy.

Seventy percent of North American birds migrate, and 80 percent of those fly at night, often navigating by the moon and stars. But artificial light can disorient birds, causing them to stray from their routes, circle light sources, and crash into buildings, resulting in millions of bird fatalities every year.

Improvements in LED technology have allowed the development of lights in a warm color range, below 3000 Kelvins, that interferes less with birds’ nighttime navigation, but still allows people to perceive color. They’re also designed to limit upward-directed light, reducing the night glow of cities. Another bonus: The lights reduce nighttime exposure to blue light, which can harm humans and wildlife alike.

So far, Western has replaced a total of 226 campus light fixtures for an estimated energy savings of 67,481 kilowatt hours each year. That keeps almost 48 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere —roughly the annual greenhouse gas output of 10 gasoline-powered passenger cars. While Western’s electricity is supplied by renewable sources through Puget Sound Energy’s Green Direct program, this project will reduce demand on the local grid and lower carbon emissions.

Good for the birds, good for all of us.

A person walks beside another person in a wheelchair down a hallway with large windows and vibrant artwork. Artwork by Katana Sol.

Alma Clark Glass Hall Wins Architectural Awards

Alma Clark Glass Hall has won the highest level of recognition, Honor Awards, from both the American Institute of Architects Washington Council (AIAWA), in the Civic Design category, and from the Northwest & Pacific AIA. The Civic Design Awards celebrate quality design arising from collaboration between architects and their civic clients. According to the AIAWA website, the awarded projects “represent the finest standards in innovation, sustainability, building performance, and overall integration with the client and surrounding community.” Clark Glass Hall was the only project to win awards in both categories, with jurors noting its great contribution toward supporting equity, diversity, and inclusion on campus. The building also received Honorable Mention from the Seattle AIA. 

In addition, the residence hall received an award of merit for excellence in architecture in a new building from the Society for College and University Planning. It has also achieved LEED Gold certification. Planning and design focused on equity, inclusion, sustainability, and opportunity, with goals of creating community, strong connections, and cultural understanding among students. 

Design challenges included bridging the 80-foot hill between north campus and the Ridgeway Complex in a way that makes the Ridge accessible to everyone and creating a vibrant, welcoming space that supports social, academic, and residential connections. Beginning with student listening sessions, the “Shared Journey” pathway that forms a single accessible route for all residents and visitors was created. The collaborative process helped ensure that student and community voices continued to be heard.

The residence hall is named after Alma Clark Glass, the first Black student to attend Western Washington University in 1906. She is remembered as a confident, committed, and well-respected community leader who was deeply invested in advocacy work. She was a founding member of the Seattle branch of the NAACP, a lifelong member of the Washington State Association of Colored Women, chairwoman of the Seattle Self-Improvement Club, and served on the Board of Directors for the Seattle Urban League.

Katana Sol, a Western Industrial Design student, won an open competition to design interior murals and graphics, saying of her designs, “it is my hope that black joy can be illustrated and inspiring for us to come together as a community to appreciate our accomplishments and beauty that makes us who we are.” The hall hosts the first Black Affinity Housing Community on Western’s campus, created in response to student feedback and requests for more identity centered spaces to advocate for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) students on campus.

Alma Clark Glass Hall welcomed its first student residents in September of 2021.