KUOW University of Washington

When KUOW, the University of Washington’s public radio station, decided to move off-campus, they turned to RBDG for design of their new facility. The University chose a building that is actually three separate structures with shared core spaces and several other tenants, which presented a unique challenge to the RBDG team. Because KUOW occupies parts of the second and third floors in two of the structures, floating floor systems were required for each acoustically sensitive space, and all walls and ceilings were fully isolated from the building structure.

The new station includes four on-air and production control rooms, a talk studio, three edit booths, two voice-over rooms and a performance studio. This last feature allows KUOW to produce programs that require a larger acoustical space, such as musical performances or town hall meetings. KUOW also has a significant emphasis on local news and provides regional coverage of stories for NPR, so they needed a large newsroom to accommodate 21 news staffers and the resource materials they share. All of the acoustic spaces are connected to a technical operations hub that that contains the station’s shared audio and broadcast equipment.

Nearly ten years after their initial construction, KUOW acquired the remainder of their upper floor in order to expand their news bullpen, development offices, and administrative areas. RBDG provided planning and interior design services to ensure a seamless connection to the existing spaces.