It's an exciting time to be a part of the Wisconsin Union, as an organization. We just celebrated our 100th anniversary last year and as we begin our next century of service, we look to the future for our buildings and programs.
Sustainability is a buzz word in today’s society. There are lots of definitions of what it is and what it means. Here’s a definition from the EPA: sustainability is: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
These are our initiatives to green building and sustainable practices.
9. Water Features Randall Street Coffeehouse Deck Natural Stormwater Reservoirs Southwest Plaza Waterwall
10. Natural Ventilation * From: http://gaia.lbl.gov/hpbf/picture/casestudy/inland/inlanddia3.jpg * Sun garden Grill “ Big Ass Fans”: Help pull up hot air in summer and push it down in winter
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12. DSF CURRENT DESIGN North 70% 34.64% East 30% 29.88% South 30% 29.29% West 30% 29.25% Daylighting
24. Shayna Hetzel Project Communications Director [email_address] Dan Cornelius [email_address] Angela Pakes Ahlman Campus Co-Project Manager [email_address] newunion.wisc.edu unionbuildingproject.wordpress.com Contact Information
Editor's Notes
It's an exciting time to be a part of the Wisconsin Union, as an organization. We just celebrated our 100 th anniversary last year and as we begin our next century of service, we look to the future for our buildings and programs. We have an exciting afternoon/morning/evening planned that will help you understand this building's demolition process, the interim logistics plan, and the new south campus union designs.
Planning principles emerged from the focus groups, workshops, and meetings. These principles act as a touchstone or filter that prioritize building elements and help set the identity of the new union. You can see the detailed principles around this room but let me share the big ideas with you: 1. The building must be a people magnet. 2. It must advance programming. 3. The architecture is timeless and enduring—something that stands the test of time as a campus icon 4. The building process and materials are Green and Sustainable 5. The facility is student-focused, but welcoming of all 6. The building is a draw for the entire campus while reflecting the interests and needs of its local neighborhood. 7. The building is complementary to Memorial Union, not supplementary. 8. The facility tells our story.
We began the design and program planning process in January of this year. In May, we finalized the broad scope program—which defines the services and functions of the building and their relative size. In August, we finalized the architectural style and exterior materials and now we are spending this semester and next semester to create the interior design themes. The broad timeline is as follows: 1. Close Union South after finals in December 2. The transition into alternate space will follow. Transitions include the Breese Terrace Union which is the current former University Health Services building on University Avenue, Memorial Union, and expanded services elsewhere on campus. These transitions are set to happen in January and February of this next year 3. We hope to begin the demolition of Union South in the spring of 2009 once we receive the authority from the Board of Regents and the State Building Commission 4. Construction will then follow and extend through March of 2011 5. We anticipate the grand opening of the building to occur in the spring of 2011 just in time to host the National Science Olympiad in May Next, Mark will take us through the alternative space plans.
We’re going to go through the definition and intentions of a sustainable building. We’re also going to go through the LEED checklist and the Union’s priorities. We’ll highlight our strategies for water conservation and natural ventilation and also share with you our ideas for salvage and locally-sourced materials.
Sustainability is a buzz word in today’s society. There are lots of definitions of what it is and what it means. Here’s a definition from the EPA: sustainability is: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs The next question you should consider is, “How does sustainability relate to a major building project?” Buildings account for 40% of total global energy use Humans from western societies spend 90% of their time indoors Finally, we’re here to share with you and answer the question “ How has the new south campus union approached sustainability?”
The design committee in 2007 chose to use LEED, which is a certification process. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and it is a quantitative tool used to measure sustainability. There are four different levels and the design set Silver as its base goal. As it currently stands, the union is at gold! There is only one other college union in the nation that is LEED Gold and that is the Unviersity of Vermont. They just barely made it, with 39 points. It is unlikely that we will get platinum since there are only a handful of buildings in the world that are LEED Platinum. What we are doing, however, is building capacity to add additional green technologies as funding or other opportunities become available.
The design committee, through eco-workshops with Rocky Mountain Institute and the Madison Environmental Group, set the top three sustainable priorities for the building project. The first is living green. This speaks to building a building that facilitates green operations and sustainable practices such as composting, natural ventilation, buying from local vendors, energy conservation, green business practices, and other. The other two priorities were water and energy conservation. At this point, we are at a 40% reduction in water use and a 37% reduction in energy. This is huge for a multi-purpose building that hosts events, food service, and guest rooms.
This is a view of the south part of campus. The gray spaces show all of the impervious surfaces—you can tell there is a lot of concrete on the south campus. The green shows patches of green space whether it’s the hill and open space by Camp Randall or whether it’s green patches that run along the streets.
Conventional building and site design approaches stormwater management as a problem—rain is typically funneled away from a building and site as quickly as possible to avoid leakage. Stormwater rapidly is directed to our area lakes and other bodies of water—often carrying a variety of contaminants with it. This water does not go into the ground where it is needed to recharge the aquifers to replenish our drinking water supply. Our site design has attempted to turn the challenge of stormwater management into an opportunity by capturing as much of that water as possible for use in water features that create a more attractive and appealing atmosphere for the users. The two features that we are hoping to include are a waterwall and stormwater reservoirs. Waterwall on the north side of the union for the coffeehouse deck. It offers ambient, white noise to mitigate the traffic and creates a really nice space that encourages use of the balcony. The other strategy is for stormwater reservoirs that collect rain water and re-use it for outdoor water features, on-site irrigation, and other needs. There are proposed reservoirs outside along Randall Street and in the south plaza near the performance area.
Another cool feature is our plans for natural ventilation….
Emphasis on local materials supports local economy, reduces transportation energy, and helps reflect local heritage
In case you have further questions that you’d like to ask, feel free to contact either Shayna Hetzel or Dan Cornelius. Also, our website and blog are updated weekly and we encourage you to post reactions and thoughts to the designs.
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