Rebecca Barnes
Rebecca is newly liberated from career commitments. She is intrigued with the potential of making her experience and knowledge useful to others.
You may find some current ideas on her blog at designatanyscale.blog. She has interest in and enthusiasm for opportunities to collaborate, contribute and socialize ideas.
Through May 2019, University of Washington’s university architect and associate vice provost for Campus Planning, Rebecca Barnes managed planning and design of the university’s campuses. She led the Office of the University Architect, staffed the UW Architectural Commission and Landscape Advisory Committee, was a founding member of the board of the University District Partnership, and managed long-range planning and project design oversight campus-wide, a major outcome of which is the 2019 Campus Master Plan, a zoning, development guide and vision for the 600-acre campus’ next 20-40 years.
Barnes’ engagement with the design community is illustrated by her early leadership of Seattle’s ARCADE design journal, and many leadership and public engagement roles with AIA chapters in Seattle and Boston, GrowSmart RI, and Seattle’s Ear to the Ground Theatre.
Rebecca is an award-winning urban designer, planner and strategist with broad leadership experience in both the public and private sectors. She oversaw the University of Washington’s 600-acre urban campus development, envisioned the Big Dig’s architecture and urban design including Boston’s iconic Zakim Bridge, led Seattle’s “urban villages plan”, paved the way to Brown University’s growth in the Providence Jewelry District, led many pro bono community design charrettes and developed ARCADE into a Pacific Northwest regional design journal. She is broadly experienced with complex development programs and organizational structures in a wide range of roles — client representative, strategic advisor, design community leader, and design manager.
Committed to achieving well-integrated environments that support human activity and enjoyment, Rebecca enjoys participating in initiatives designed to bring about supportive, inspiring and beautiful places. She draws on her experiences with team management, leadership and mentoring, city and campus planning and policy development, architectural, landscape and urban design, public engagement and communications, community and economic development, transportation and infrastructure planning, strategic action planning, and other professional and personal activities.
Rebecca loves to work with good-humored partners and team-mates to make good things happen. Let’s share some thoughts soon.