October 9, 2003
Community support evident in new people-friendly CSE building
When one walks through the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering, it quickly becomes clear that the local technology community wanted this building to be built.
The signs are everywhere.
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There is one above the first-floor stairwell naming the spectacular and spacious Microsoft Atrium, which rises six stories to a glass ceiling. And one outside the door to the building’s premier conference room, identifying it as the Bill and Melinda Gates Commons, a sizeable space on the sixth floor with a spectacular view and an AV system that’s a techie’s dream. Another through the door that connects the commons to an adjacent open-air deck tells visitors they’re getting a birds-eye view of Husky Stadium and Lake Washington from the Alberg Terrace.
Additional signs name labs, lounges, breakout areas and study spaces, thanking supporters for their generosity.
“What is great is that 250 people stepped up and donated $42 million to keep us a top-10 program,” said Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science and one of the driving forces behind the new $72 million facility. “And almost every penny came from the Puget Sound area.”
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| Several skywalks connect the Allen Center to the adjoining Electrical Engineering Building. |
That’s a powerful endorsement, particularly when one considers that the support coincided with a major financial slump in the tech community, added Computer Science & Engineering Chair David Notkin.
“They see the role that a major research university plays in attracting opportunity to the region,” Notkin said. “And this building gives us freedom. It allows us to go in completely different directions than we could before.”
The community can take a peek at the facility today during a 1:30 p.m. dedication. Building namesake Paul Allen is the main speaker, accompanied by Gov. Gary Locke, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, UW Dean of Engineering Denice Denton and others. Tours will follow from 2 to 4 p.m.
The excitement that has been building since construction started was evident as Notkin walked through the building on the first day of class for the new fall quarter. At one point, passing one of the center’s many laboratory spaces, he spied students — a lot of them — parking at new computers, first thing in the morning, on the first day at school. And he couldn’t contain his enthusiasm.
“Yeah!” he whooped, shaking his fists in the air as students on the other side of the large window that separated the lab and the hallway looked up, startled. “This is great — just GREAT!”
Seeing the source of the outburst, they grinned at each other and went back to their computers.
The center has numerous high-tech features — building-wide wireless access, super-fast network connections for every computer — to make life easier for occupants as they engage in computer-intensive research. But technology wasn’t the main focus of the design, according to Lazowska. The emphasis was on people.
“We had 10 desiderata that we gave the architects at the start of the project, and only two or three of them were technical,” he said. “The rest were about people.”
As a result, the Allen Center is loaded with places where faculty and students can bump into each other and chat about their work — natural light is the standard, plush chairs and sofas the norm, with some down-to-business additions to balance the creature comforts. Breakout spaces just off the stairwells, for example, have floor to ceiling whiteboards. Already, informal groups can be seen gathering at the spaces, discussing their ideas while some members pen equations on the wall.
“All of the best spaces in the building are public spaces,” Lazowska said. “On the top floor facing the lake, there are no private offices for geezers like me. It’s entirely conference rooms with a student lounge and a view deck that runs the full width of the building.”
Notkin and Lazowska realize that expectations are even higher for the program now. Based on past performance, they’re confident that the technology sector’s faith is well placed.
“Our program has a long record of committing to excellence and delivering on our commitments,” Lazowska said. “If it had been just hot air, we would still be in Sieg Hall.”
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| The wide-open Microsoft Atrium floods the building with natural light. |
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Creative explosion could lead department to new company
Oren Etzioni has a metaphor to describe what moving to a shiny new facility means for the UW Department of Computer Science & Engineering.
“Imagine a huge amount of intellectual and creative energy squeezed into a tiny space,” said Etzioni, a CSE associate professor. “When you open it: ‘Boom!’ In the next five years I predict an explosion of creativity and success beyond anything we’ve experienced.
“I guess another way to put it is the computer science genie is out of the bottle.”
Leaders in the department fully expect that genie to work some major magic, setting what is already a nationally ranked top-10 program on an even higher trajectory.
The department’s old home, Sieg Hall, was increasingly becoming a liability, according to CSE Professor Ed Lazowska.
“It was falling down around our ears and we had less than half the space of comparable programs,” Lazowska said. The new Allen Center has 2½ times the overall space and 3 times the lab space of the old building. “It’s the tool we need to remain highly competitive.”
The ramping up has already started. During the past five years, CSE has attracted a number of top computer scientists with the promise of a new facility. Last spring, department leaders encouraged faculty to apply for grants that depended on having the new space. Etzioni is just one of several who have netted funding for projects that would have been impossible in Sieg.
“Oren has about $3 million in new grants starting this fall,” Lazowska said. “Our people will now be able to do what they came here to do.”
Being among the top 10 in the nation is great, Etzioni said. But he and his colleagues have higher aspirations.
“What we would really like is to be a top-five department.”
