The Joint West Campus Area Committee discussed upcoming planning strategies for the betterment of University of Wisconsin facilities, including city and campus culture, Wednesday night.

Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management, presented a plan for the Institute for Discovery, a multi-million-dollar development for interdisciplinary UW biology researchers.

The plan included elaborate architectural layouts illustrating a facility comprised of five floors of science labs, education facilities, food-service and informal-gathering areas. The institute will be built between West Johnson and University Street, directly across from Union South.

Fish called the institute “a village of research buildings” which will improve multifaceted biological-research needs.

“It will be a different approach to doing research. Through the creation of interdisciplinary labs … [we will] solve complex problems of integrative biology,” Fish said.

The operation will cost a total of $350 million. The state will provide roughly 50 percent of the funding, and the remainder will be raised through grants and private donations.

Union South, which Fish called “a useless and dysfunctional facility,” will be revamped in sync with the Institute of Discovery.

In theory, Union South would be transformed into an attractive and useful facility containing food service, private hotel space, meeting areas and a parking ramp, in order to cater to the needs of research patrons, Fish added.

However, neighborhood representatives questioned how the elaborate construction plan may interfere with the nearby neighborhoods.

The current plan would redirect West Johnson Street traffic to Dayton Street and, while Fish says it is manageable and in the interests of the community, others disagreed.

Amy Rountree, a resident of the neighborhood, said the traffic re-routing may affect the tranquil and peaceful atmosphere in the Greenbush neighborhood.

Nonetheless, Fish said the facility plans are moving swiftly and could be approved in the summer. The first phase of construction would commence by spring 2007, and architects would carry out the second and third phases over the next 10 years.

In regard to the more extensive UW planning agenda, Director of Planning and Landscape Architecture for the Campus Master Plan Gary Brown gave a comprehensive review and update of the 2005 plan.

According to Brown, there have been extensive presentations and public meetings conducted in an effort to gain input for the rebuilding of more than 20 campus buildings.

“[The buildings] are at the end of their useful lives,” Brown said.

Brown added the general plan recreates the campus atmosphere as more suitable for students and faculty. A new team of architects will plan around the idea of shorter and wider buildings to replace older-style buildings.

This design will prove more cohesive to faculty and students who need to be in constant communication, Brown added.

The effort will be “building community through interior revamping,” Brown said.

Upcoming renovations and construction will include a new nursing school, track facility, medical and health-science area, additional Lakeshore housing and an upcoming Union West building located near the Lakeshore residence halls.

A draft of the plan will be presented to the committee in May, Brown said.

In addition, the community was given an update on construction of the American Family Children’s Hospital, which is expected to be completed by July 2007.