Van Asselt School
Van Asselt School identity graphics
Seattle, Washington
Client
Seattle Public Schools
size
51,700 sf (new) 10,500 sf (renovation)
completion
2024
Award
2024, Outstanding Stewardship Award, Historic Seattle
Experiential graphics connect people to place by engaging the senses, tapping into the emotions, and piquing the curiosity of all who encounter them. But how is this alignment maintained when occupants change from year to year? This was one of the questions considered by Bassetti Architects’ experiential graphics team as it developed graphics for the renovation and new cross-laminated timber addition of Seattle's historic Van Asselt School. Currently, Van Asselt serves as a swing-site for schools displaced by construction, which means the building's demographics change regularly. Bassetti's experiential graphics team considered the human condition's universalities and applied those insights to the themes and designs that speak to our common emotions and experiences.
The school’s new addition houses four learning communities, each represented with a unique visual identity. The design team drew from the four elements – water, earth, wind, and fire – as commonalities shared by students from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Abstracted textures and patterns etched into MDF panels enliven the spaces: ripples represent water, cracked soil represents earth, fog wisps represent air, and sun rays represent fire.
Giving a unique visual identity to each learning community helps the students take ownership of their space. The textured warm tones compliment the tall ceilings, framed by the building’s mass timber structure.
