Wisconsin Union Upgrades

If we follow the saying that Wisconsin has two seasons – winter and construction (a.k.a. summer) - we have good news for UW students, faculty alumni and friends: perpetual summer for at least the next 3 years! 

The next 6 months will (hopefully) round out the end of construction on State Street and the nearby University Square and Grainger Hall developments on University Avenue, but have no fear; there are many other planned projects that will pick up where those leave off. The old Ogg hall in the central campus area will continue its deconstruction phases to make way for a pedestrian mall and green space that will flow to the expanded Chazen Museum of Art, which is set to begin construction early next year. The Wisconsin Institute of Discovery has already begun clearing out the 1300 block of University Ave to set the foundations for its $150 million facility with the goal of completing construction in 2010.

No part of campus will be sacred in the upcoming season, not even the holy historical Memorial Union.

The Wisconsin Union, the epicenter of all things UW related, will be updating both the Memorial Union and Union South starting in spring of 2009. No worries about losing the personality of the Memorial Union – it will get basic accessibility, heating, cooling, and ventilation upgrades while preserving the historic and uniquely Wisconsin integrity that we all know and love.

It’s Union South, the building that screams “Soviet Concrete Bloc”, that will get the true overhaul. The building located on the engineering side of campus is, in large part due to its staggeringly sterile design, highly underutilized by students. The Wisconsin Union Initiative plans on designing a brand new student- and eco-friendly building to replace the one that currently stands.

The Initiative hopes to create a new south campus building that serves as a gateway for south campus buildings – including the forthcoming Wisconsin Institute for Discovery – and creates an “enduring campus center with its own identity” to serve students on the southwest side of campus. The green design will provide an urban entertainment center for student groups and individuals in the area that currently lack an accommodating and appealing place to go.

The Wisconsin Union Initiative is encouraging the UW community to partake in development of the new facility. Seven umbrella Design Advisory Groups (DAGs) associated with the project will meet every week from now until May 5th to discuss aspects of design and function for the new south building. The initiative wants input from UW students, faculty, alumni and freinds, so this is your chance to state your beef or forever hold your peace. It’s already been a long winter, so settle in for an extended constructions season. Contact Dan Cornelius or David Christopher of the Wisconsin Union Initiative to get more info at unionbuildingproject@gmail.com.

 DAG Schedule (all meetings in the Project Office of the Memorial Union)

Tuesdays
6-7:30 pm- Foodservice and Retail
8-9:30 pm- Indoor/Outdoor RecreationWednesdays
5-6:30 pm- Programming and Operations
7-8:30 pm- Leadership and Involvement

Thursdays
5-6:30 pm- Site Design
7-8:30 pm- Sustainability

Fridays
3-4:30 pm- Interior Design and Art

 [The original version of this post listed Selery and Witte Halls also on the chopping block but there are no plans for their demise in the near future and the post has been edited to reflect the Campus Master Plan.]