New Chemistry Building for UW-Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE, WI / Congratulations to Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises (OTIE) for winning the WRMCA Concrete Design Award for this Education & Healthcare project. The winning design, UW-Milwaukee’s Chemistry Building, is a new 163,000 square foot building with innovative design that incorporates five concrete decks to enhance the building’s stability and post tension technology to open up the interior space by using less columns.
Serving more than 2,000 students each year, UWM’s aging Chemistry Building was significantly impacting the university’s ability to provide an ideal learning experience. Along with the Milwaukee community, UWM understood their chemistry building’s economic importance as many students pursuing degrees in healthcare and other STEM related fields required a more advanced learning environment.
The new building, with an estimated completion date in 2024, will serve as an anchor in the STEM quad at UW-Milwaukee. It will contain a mix of classrooms, laboratory space, lecture halls, informal collaboration spaces and offices. To assist the UWM learning environment, the new facility will be connected to the Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Center (KIRC) for shared utilities service and support.
Highlights
- The new facility will serve as an anchor in the STEM quad housing both the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
- An emphasis was placed on innovative techniques to reduce discharge to the city’s combined sewer through the use of biofiltration and an underground storage system
- The OTIE team supported a multidisciplinary design effort, which included architectural (Kahler Slater in partnership with CannonDesign), mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP), fire protection, communications, energy management and cost estimating.
Services
- Structural: Special design considerations had to be considered in the lab areas to minimize any effects of floor vibration.
- Civil: Included grading, paving, storm water management, loading docks, and site utilities.
- Construction Administration: Assisting and providing site observations, reviewing shop drawings, and answering construction questions.
The vision for the design:
To provide a state-of-the-art building for modern instruction to support students at all levels, enhance fundamental research and scientific innovation, and connect researchers, students, and the community through science.
