The Wisconsin Union Initiative held a day-long conference in Memorial Union Monday, updating students, faculty and the Madison community on its rebuilding of Union South and preservation of Memorial Union.
John Barnhardt, UW-Madison student and president of the Wisconsin Union, and Mark Guthier, director of the Wisconsin Union, emphasized the need for involvement in the project.
Today kicks off our coordinated effort of getting everyone involved - there are definitely ample opportunities,"" Barnhardt said.
According to Guthier, the fundamental goal of the initiative is to advance the Union's vision of being ""the heart and soul"" of UW-Madison, allowing people to communicate and build relationships across all social boundaries.
Planning principles for the project include making Union South a student-focused ""people magnet"" with ""timeless and enduring"" architecture.
Plans also include reusing material from old Union South to create a ""Green,"" eco-friendly building that is complementary in importance to Memorial Union, Guthier said.
""We want two main Unions in and of their own right,"" Guthier said. ""There will be reasons to go to each - each will have things that the other doesn't have.""
According to Jan van den Kieboom, programming design principal from Workshop Architects, the initiative's main challenge is to create the same kind of connection students and the community already harbor for Memorial Union.
Although the project is at the beginning stages of production, van den Kieboom said the finished product will likely be complete six months to a year ahead of schedule because the state is allowing a construction manager to be a part of the team.
""We want to get big picture ideas set as much as we possibly can while students are here on campus in force,"" van den Keiboom said, adding meetings have already included discussions about food service, retail operations, conference operations, parking and transit.
""By the end of the semester, we should know how big the building is, what kind of stuff is in it and what it will look like.""
According to van den Keiboom, opportunities for future student involvement will include focus groups, a campus-wide survey, a live blog for students to post ideas and additional information sessions to provide project updates.
