Gensler Seattle

A holiday weekend color study. 🍓⚽️🧢 See you Monday!

In honor of National Higher Education Day tomorrow, we’re looking at trends in education from Gensler’s Design Forecast 2026.

As the cost and value of traditional four-year degrees in the U.S. continue to come under increased scrutiny, investment in trade schools and K-12 learning has increased. At every level, institutions around the world are seeking creative ways to leverage their real estate. Primary educators are contending with AI, so they’re looking for spaces that foster in-person collaboration and community. Meanwhile, universities focus on becoming lifelong learning hubs and growing their global reach.

Project + photo credits: 1. Ironworkers Local 63 Training Center (Tom Harris) | 2-3. Western Oregon University Student Success Center (Heywood Chan) | 4-5. Sacramento State Student Housing - Mount Whitney Hall (rendering) | 6-7. University Of Washington ICA Basketball Training & Operation Facility (Heywood Chan)

Where Marymoor’s parkland meets Redmond’s growing tech corridor, The Piper brings together the energy of a growing urban hub with the calm of the Pacific Northwest landscape.

For the families arriving here from around the world, this place had to feel local before it felt new. Cool greens and deep blues root one building in the quiet of the forest floor; warm, sun-drenched tones lift the other into the dappled light of the canopy above. Between them: a full art walk, building-scale murals, and interiors that carry that same bold, gallery-level energy inside.

Located steps from the light rail and designed with families in mind, The Piper is color-saturated, pattern-forward, and grounded in nature — ready to welcome home residents who toggle between trailheads and standing desks, weekend concerts and school drop-offs.

📸: EJ Deasis