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UW works to build for ‘24/7 lifestyle’

The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education held an open forum at the University of Wisconsin Tuesday to discuss the need to design new university buildings that cater to the needs of today's students.

At the forum, WISCAPE discussed the connection between campus design and the cultural, social and learning climate of university students.

According to a presentation by architectural firm Perkins + Will, students are not the same as they were 50 years ago and will not be the same 50 years from now.

Nik Hawkins, Outreach Program coordinator for WISCAPE, said students today live a "24/7 lifestyle."

Students are "multi-taskers" — according to the Perkins + Will presentation — who never have a traditional meal; they eat on the go as they talk on cell phones, listen to iPods or even as they cram the last bit of reading before lecture.

The presentation referred to the modern student as part of an inquisitive generation, where "Google has always been a verb," "'Madden' has always been a game, not a Super Bowl-winning coach" and "the Soviet Union has never existed."

In addition, the presentation suggested the only thing students today have in common with older generations is the fact that they attend college, and it referred to modern-day students as "techno-native."

This new student requires a new plan of action, according to the presentation, and UW is taking the initiative. Hawkins said the world requires individuals with inter-disciplinary skills to solve complex problems, and UW feels students should have the opportunity to learn in the same manner as the professional world operates.

"We need to break down compartments," said Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor of facilities, planning and management at UW. The plan to achieve this goal is to construct buildings that merge many disciplines of studies together, he added, but he said it was difficult to construct interdisciplinary buildings for the sciences in particular because of the amount of equipment involved.

One such building, the Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery, is currently in the works. Upon completion, WID will house research facilities combining fields in biology, engineering, informational technology and nanotechnology.

Fish added WID, a $150 million project expected to be complete by 2010, would lead to advancements in the medical field.

However, the WID is not the only major project being undertaken for the university.

The redevelopment of University Square will blend a combination of programs — housing student organization offices, registrar and bursar's offices, and a new health center.

A benefit of the new building, according to Fish, is the convenience it will provide for students. He added the new interdisciplinary structures would provide "a cross-line between functions," so that no structure on the UW campus ever becomes obsolete.

The results of this idea are seen in the new residence hall, Newell J. Smith Hall, which hosts not only dorm rooms but classrooms, incorporating parts of both academic and housing needs together.

Fish said the goal of the new UW developments is to tend to "today's students" and "to combine research, education and student services altogether."