Gates to the City
The new headquarters of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation does not trumpet its own importance. And the low-slung buildings that sweep giant arms near the foot of the Space Needle don’t reveal the intensity and dynamism of the largest private foundation in the world.
But the sheer size of the campus—it covers several blocks—the innovative sustainable design and its strategic position in the heart of the city hint at the foundation’s importance to the region. The foundation drives new thinking about global problems from health care and education to agriculture and finance. With an annual $3 billion budget that rivals that of some nations, it allies with governments, billionaires, universities and international organizations with the brave goals of eliminating disease, reducing poverty, tackling gender inequality and improving literacy.
When the campus opens in spring 2011—at a cost of $500 million for just the first phase of construction—it will tie Seattle to these global ambitions. Just as Microsoft permanently branded Seattle as a software city, the foundation may make the city synonymous with global health and development. Many leaders certainly hope so.
While it may be an unintended consequence, the foundation’s astronomic levels of donation and collaboration already carry the city along in its wake, lifting other philanthropies and researchers and some profitable companies to new heights. The vastness of its mission is matched by the scope of its reach. It influences politics and policy on every continent.
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| The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has mostly shunned the spotlight even as it grew into a giant of global philanthropy. (Image courtesy of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) |
The approach has already had important local outcomes, leading to the establishment, for example, of new institutions such as the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which is affiliated with the University of Washington. The IHME is governed by an international board, including leaders from many continents, and aims to help measure progress around the world toward global health.
This campus also marks a major new commitment to this city, and will unveil a new stage for events. The foundation chose local architecture firm NBBJ to build its home. World leaders and experts will convene in these conference rooms to discuss wiping out malaria or inequality for women, and to make decisions that will
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