Photo: Aaron Leitz

The Burke Museum

Seattle, Washington

The Burke Museum houses and cares for over 16 million historically and culturally significant artifacts and specimens from throughout the Pacific and Coastal Salish region, ranging from totem (story) poles and gemstones to dinosaur fossils. As a teaching institution affiliated with the University of Washington, the mission of the Burke is to help everyone—curators, visitors, educators and students—understand the rich connections between the natural world and cultural heritage, while engaging with and honoring Indigenous communities in this area.

Design Principal
Tom Kundig

Turning the Museum Inside‑Out

The Burke Museum houses and cares for over 16 million historically and culturally significant artifacts and specimens from throughout the Pacific and Coastal Salish region, ranging from totem (story) poles and gemstones to dinosaur fossils. Revising the guest experience of its previous building—in which much of the museum’s collections were stored unseen in the basement—the new Burke Museum breaks down traditional museum barriers between public and “back-of-house” spaces, turning the museum inside-out. Integrating collections and research labs with traditional galleries enables visitors and the surrounding community to engage with the process of scientific discovery in a true working museum.

A Rational, Flexible Building

The architecture of the Burke Museum merges a simple and archetypal form with clear and intuitively organized functional relationships. Efficient floor plans provide 66% more area for ongoing research and display of the museum’s 16 million artifacts, with controlled areas for sensitive pieces or items not available for public view. Porous edges, including a 24‑foot‑by‑20‑foot pivoting window wall extend the building’s transparency, opening the Burke to the nature of a new outdoor courtyard and flexible gathering spaces.

The true goal of this building was to provide people access to what they couldn't see. Dr. Julie Stein

Geoarchaeologist & Director Emeritus of the Buke Museum

Designed for Community Connections

The new Burke Museum establishes a new campus edge at the busy threshold between the University of Washington campus and the University District, replacing a solid barrier with a porous, welcoming building. To foster this sense of invitation and welcome, it was vital to include dual building entries on both the east, campus-facing side and the west, neighborhood-facing side.

The museum’s rational interior circulation funnels traffic from these opposing entrances to the same central starting point while preserving space for a dramatic, double-height west lobby and resolving the site’s grade change. From the museum’s interior, large windows frame exterior views and allow visitors to orient themselves as they progress through collections. Likewise, views into the museum from the street expose the ongoing research work of the Burke to passersby.

We wanted to create a simple, beautiful, rational and flexible building that will serve the Burke for hundreds of years. It is an inviting place not only for the public, but also for the scientists, researchers and curators of today and tomorrow. Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA

Design Principal

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture Exterior

Natural & Cultural Context

The building’s exterior design centers the Burke Museum within its cultural and environmental context, while illustrating the work and mission of the museum. Clad in Kebony, a sustainable wood product, the Burke’s shingled exterior recalls the plank houses and roof forms of native Coast Salish communities, as well as the craftsman style popular throughout the Pacific Northwest. Tall, narrow windows further echo the straight vertical lines of cedar and fir forests. The roof slope also aligns with the slope of the street, further integrating the museum with its surroundings.

Cultural Equity

Extensive collaboration and engagement with Indigenous communities—including a Native American Advisory Board (NAAB) of statewide Tribal leaders—throughout design and exhibit planning, as well as fundraising and construction ensured that increased public access to collections remained respectful. The Burke Yard’s sweeping meadow includes 15,000 camas plants, a central feature in indigenous traditions of food, landscape cultivation, and the celebration of the seasons. Tribal members collaborated with the Burke and design team throughout planting and during harvest, and the Burke continues to develop programming to showcase how native plants are tended, foraged, and harvested for cooking and ceremony.

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture Interior

Future Flexibility

The museum is designed to accommodate two decades of growth, giving the museum the ability to adjust to the changing needs of its inventory. Compact collections storage can be vertically expanded, while laboratory and research spaces can be repurposed between departments. The building’s rational, efficient interior supports widespread flexibility and long‑term use of the facility.

Efficient Design

As a public institution, the Burke Museum maintains strict budgetary constraints. The new building is designed to be extremely efficient building, allowing for targeted use of capital funds during design and construction and preserving the museum’s annual operating budget. A central “slot canyon” bifurcates the interior program, creating intuitive circulation and visual connections throughout the museum. The circulation spine performs triple duty as central corridor, gallery space and exhibit pathway, reducing the building footprint by 30,000 SF.

Access to Daylight

The Burke Museum fosters a bright interior experience for both staff and guests. The “slot canyon” is capped by an intelligent View Glass skylight, which includes four tinting stages depending on the light level outside, floods the circulation spine with daylight without exposing collections to sun damage. Daylighting within the galleries leads to less artificial lighting during the daytime. Glazing at the building’s corners and throughout laboratory and exhibit areas further introduces natural light to these hardworking spaces.

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