Bellevue Botanical Garden Visitor Center

Since opening in 1992, the 53-acre Bellevue Botanical Garden has become one of the most popular public gardens in the Pacific Northwest. A growing interest in native plantings and gardening, as well as expanded programs, has drawn large crowds to the botanical gardens in recent years. The design of the new visitor center answers these needs while blurring the boundaries between architecture and the gardens. Balancing civic function with residential scale and attention to detail, the design creates intimate, inspirational spaces that allow for exploration and quiet reflection.

The scope of the project, which is targeting LEED® Gold certification, is comprised of new construction, renovation and site work. The centerpiece is a new 8,500 square foot visitor center complex which includes a covered outdoor orientation space, a gift shop, meeting space, concession area, education space, office space and restrooms. The various program areas are arranged in a series of smaller structures situated under two large, organizing roofs; together, they read as a unified L-shaped building.

Courtyards interspersed between the structures reinforce connections to landscape while broad roof overhangs, fernery walls and gardens unite the spaces and create a natural flow between indoors and out. The educational component is essentially one large space that can be subdivided into several multi-purpose classrooms and meeting spaces; these spaces can expand via large rolling doors that open onto the gardens. Designed to address a rising interest in all-ages education at the garden, these flexible spaces will accommodate a wide range of programming, including the garden’s Living Lab Program, a youth-oriented program providing science and botany-related educational opportunities.

The existing parking lot has been reconfigured to double the garden’s current capacity and provide safer pedestrian access to the visitor center complex. The entry sequence has been reworked to bring guests alongside the new center through an allée of trees that screens the view of the parking area. The parking lot will help to ground the visitors’ experience of the garden beginning with the moment they enter the site.

The project also includes the renovation of the Shorts residence (built in 1957), which was designed by noted Pacific Northwest architect, Paul Kirk. The 2,300 square foot former residence of Cal and Harriet Shorts, which has served as the visitor center since its inception, will now function as an auxiliary library and living room for the garden after its transformation back to a residential space. The Shorts house and grounds served as the original bequest from a private benefactor to the City of Bellevue in 1992 with the intent that it would become the Bellevue Botanical Garden

Olson Kundig Architects
Design Principal: Jim Olson
Principal: Kevin M. Kudo-King
Project Architects: Martina Bendela and Misun Chung Gerrick
Project Staff: Renee Boone and Michael Wright

Contractor: Cornerstone General Contractors, Inc.