Van Asselt School
Van Asselt School interpretive display
Seattle, Washington
Client
Seattle Public Schools
size
51,700 sf (new) 10,500 sf (renovation)
completion
2024
Award
2024, Outstanding Stewardship Award, Historic Seattle
The new cross-laminated timber addition of Seattle's historic Van Asselt School incorporates three interpretive displays in response to a mitigation request from the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP). The graphics team conceived each display to highlight the local impact of the original 1900 schoolhouse, the neighborhood's history, and the site itself.
The first, a wood installation at the main entrance, engages and educates visitors on the school’s storied past, its site, and the surrounding neighborhood. Staggered vertical wood boards accentuate the verticality of the new natural light-filled entry vestibule. Archival photographs and stories are paired with text etched into the wood boards. This material, intentionally selected for the display, subtly relays the story of wood construction on site – the 1909 building, a wood-framed structure – and the new addition is mass timber.
The second interpretive display draws inspiration from Beacon Hill's nickname, "The Neighborhood of Nations" for its mural of multicultural textiles at the central staircase, considered the heart of the school. It resembles a patchwork quilt and symbolizes the cultural and racial diversity of Beacon Hill and South Seattle. An accompanying informational panel educates visitors about the school’s history and the neighborhood's diversity, inspiring a connection to place.
The third explores Van Asselt’s unique geographic location on a ridge between two drainage basins through a large-scale mural featuring a map of regional watersheds. This interpretive display explains how rainfall travels to the ocean and narrates the story of hydrology from both environmental and historical perspectives. Along the shorelines of nearby rivers and lakes, the display highlights historic tribal village sites and their cultural significance.
