Division of Design faculty member Kristine Matthews has received an SEGD (Society for Environmental Graphic Designers) Global Design Merit Award for her work on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center. Matthews received the award on 08 June 2013 at the SEGD annual conference in San Francisco along with Alan Maskin of Olson Kundig Architects, who collaborated on the three year development of the 11,000 square-foot Visitor Center. Cassie Klingler (MFA 2008) works at Studio Matthews and was also a member of the project team. The Visitor Center, part of the new Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation campus adjacent to the Seattle Center, is free and open to the public.
In July 2013, the Visitor Center was shortlisted for two international prizes in the Display category: Inside Award and World Building of the Year. Winners will be announced at the Inside Festival and World Architecture Festival, which take place in Singapore during early October 2013.
The Visitor Center won an AIGA (Re)design Award in October 2013. These awards recognize design that challenges people to (re)think the world and our choices, based on the belief that better design allows us to build a better planet.