Miller Hull

Out with the old, in with the new — Irving R. Newhouse Building, that is.

The former 25,084-square-foot Newhouse building that housed offices for state senators and staff, built in 1934, was supposed to be temporary. Instead it served as a workspace, in various government-related capacities, for nearly 90 years. Senate Republicans and staff moved into the building in 1998.

But the two-story structure suffered from safety and healthy hazards. Plus, it was known to get pretty cramped. That’s why, starting in March 2023, the old Newhouse building was carefully deconstructed. Many of its materials were salvaged for reuse in the modern building that has now taken its place.

At 59,240 square feet and four stories, the new building offers more than double the space. Construction was substantially completed by mid-November with a grand opening in December, just in time for the start of this year’s legislative session.

“The interior and exteriors are very reflective of just neoclassical design principles,” said architect Nick Clesi, project manager at the Seattle-based Miller Hull Partnership, LLC. “So we wanted to bring this building into the current time, but relate it to the history of the rest of the campus.”

Read the full story at The Olympian