The University of Wisconsin continues to make progress in the construction of the much anticipated Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, as officials announced the project's builders Wednesday.
Uihlein Wilson Architects of Milwaukee and Ballinger of Philadelphia will design the new campus building, which will be constructed across several blocks between University Avenue and West Johnson Street.
Uihlein Wilson and Ballinger competed against nine other teams for the job and were unanimously chosen by a selection committee comprised of representatives from the state, from UW and from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
Marsha Sehler, director of business management for Uihlein Wilson Architects said her firm also designed the new Ogg Hall, currently in construction on Dayton Street.
Sehler added that while Ballinger has worked with projects as large as WID before, this is the first project of such great magnitude her company has taken on.
"I am thrilled beyond what I can even explain to you," Sehler said. "We believe it's important in terms of the science. We believe it's important in terms of what it means to the state of Wisconsin … and it's thrilling to be a part of that."
UW graduates John and Tashia Morgridge are the primary donors for the WID project, whose $50 million donation marks the largest contribution ever to benefit the university.
Some of the Morgridge's donation will go to a private Morgridge Institute for Discovery, which is part of the WID plan.
John Morgridge, who is also a WARF Board of Trustees member, was part of the selection commission that chose Uihlein Wilson and Ballinger to design the building, and his wife, Tashia, was present during the interviews.
"It was very important that the architects understand the goal of having this building be kind of a meeting place, more or less, for people on campus," Tashia Morgridge said. "Not just [important for] scientists, but also as a social center where people will come maybe just for a cup of coffee or maybe just pass through the building on their way to somewhere else."
Uihlein Wilson and Ballinger aim to make the WID structure a "green building," according to Carl Gulbrandsen, managing director of WARF and member of the selection committee.
Gulbrandsen said since laboratories expend a lot of energy, the team is seeking Leadership in Environment and Energy Design certification for the building, which would ensure the construction process and the final product comply with specific environmental standards.
George Austin, executive director of the Overture Foundation — which helped build Monona Terrace and the Overture Center — and project manager on behalf of WARF, said the ability for the team to use "leading edge" environmental design was one reason Uihlein Wilson and Ballinger were chosen.
"We hope it will be a model for future campus development," Austin said.
Gulbrandsen said developing the design for WID will take a little over a year, and construction of the building will take anywhere between a year and a half to two years.
The team hopes to have the building completed in late 2009 or early 2010.
Tashia Morgridge said WID would not only hone scientific research, but also serve as a place for people with different skills and interests to work together.
"We are hoping … people will come to this building also as a place where people meet on campus both for structured meetings and for unstructured meetings, so there can be new ideas that will come to fruition as a result of people coming together," she said.
Tashia Morgridge added she and her husband put a lot of thought into their contribution to the Institutes, and said they are excited for the project to take form.
"We just felt that all of the things were in place for success and that we could be a catalyst in bringing all those things together," she said.
– Alexandra Rogers contributed to this report.
