Washington University and WINCO Window Company Partnership Spans Decades
WINCO Window Company in St. Louis is just a stone's throw from one of the world’s most prestigious universities — Washington University. For more than 30 years, WINCO has been supplying windows for the University’s iconic Collegiate Gothic-styled campus, but the relationship has gone far beyond mere buyer and seller.
WINCO and Washington University (called Wash U by the locals) have worked together as co-educators, exchanged new technologies, built architectural student projects together, and conducted plant tours for engineering and architecture students, faculty, and facilities managers. WINCO’s backyard proximity has saved the eco-conscious university countless dollars in shipping costs, and WINCO’s advanced energy-efficient window products have contributed to many LEED points across campus. WINCO donated windows for architectural students to use in the 2017 Solar Decathlon, a design competition that challenges student teams to build full-size, solar-powered houses. The group designed and constructed an 800-square foot, 100-percent solar-powered house to demonstrate sustainability and resilience. Additional projects are planned for the future.
Perhaps one of Washington University’s crowning architectural achievements was the transformation of its East End Danforth Campus, which overlooks the famed Forest Park, designed by landscape architect Frederick Olmstead in 1876. At the centerpiece of the campus is the majestic and historic Brookings Hall, a collegiate Gothic-style building that sits above the East End of the campus, built in 1900. As part of the massive transformation of the East End, Washington University chose a diverse group of architects to preserve and enhance the century-old buildings, while integrating relatively new contemporary construction throughout the 2010s. With its East End transformation, Wash U has successfully reinvigorated 20 percent of its campus, while addressing sustainability across the board. WINCO played an important role in three of the East End buildings, all under the University’s engineering programs, Preston M. Green Hall, Jubel Hall, and McKelvey Hall.
WINCO played an important role in three of the East End buildings, all under the University’s engineering programs, Preston M. Green Hall, Jubel Hall, and McKelvey Hall.