Page 35 - College Planning & Management, July/August 2017

Facilities CAMPUS SPACES
Paths of Glory
UW-Milwaukee’s Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex illuminates the route from science building to social hub.
BY MARK COREY AND DAVID BLACK
THE HIPPEST HANGOUT AT THE UNIVERSITY of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) these days isn’t the stu- dent union, a 1950s-era concrete structure on the verge of a long-delayed expansion and renovation. No, the see-and-be-seen space on campus is just around the corner, in the lobby of the new Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex (IRC), a three-minute walk away. At all times of day, students from different departments and walks of life are gathering on the IRC’s ground floor to study, socialize and sip coffee, singly or in groups small and large.
How a science building has come to capture the imagination of a present-day student populace says a lot about a campus in need of state-of-the-art space for schoolwork and interaction. But it also speaks to the extent to which changes in human behavior have been acknowledged by universities as well as commercial
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PHOTOS © STEVE HALL/HEDRICH BLESSING PHOTOGRAPHERS