About the Transportation Building

View the Transportation Building on the Capitol Campus Map.

The Transportation Building is a four-story building designed in the shape of the letter H, particularly fitting for its former name, the Highway Administration Building. It houses the Department of Transportation.

The building features two concrete sections connected by a glass center section. The exterior design allows for lots of natural sunlight to reach the interior workspaces.

The building's design uses the theory of horizontal flow, which suggests that people can move more rapidly when they stay on one floor rather than move between floors. A central escalator moves employees through the complex's four levels.

History

In the mid-1960s, East Campus continued to grow after the completion of the State Archives Building. By 1967, the State Capitol Committee planned for two buildings to occupy the eastern edge of the Capitol Campus, one of which being the new Highway Administration Building.

The Richardson Associates, an architectural firm from Seattle, designed the Highway Administration Building. Construction began in January 1969.

Crews used reinforced, cast-in-place concrete to build the complex's foundations and underground garage. They also used pre-cast concrete units to form the building's walls, floors, and ceilings. Upon its completion, the Washington Aggregates & Concrete Association gave the building a "special award for excellence in the use of concrete."

Construction ended in 1970, costing $8 million. For the first time, the Highway Department moved into a new office complex designed especially for its needs and functions.

In September 1977, the Highway Department became the Department of Transportation. That December, the State Capitol Committee received a request to rename the building due to the department's renaming and the confusion between the Highway Administration Building and the Highways-Licenses Building. With little hesitation, the committee accepted the name change, and the building became known as the Transportation Building.