Organizers set to unveil preliminary Memorial Union designs

Organizers of the Memorial Union Reinvestment project are set to present preliminary floor plans, site plans and design ideas for the next phase of the renovation.

An open forum will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 9, in Memorial Union (TITU). The session is open to the public.

At the forum, architects will make presentations and answer questions. After the presentation, attendees will be encouraged to visit any of four stations focusing on concepts for: the Terrace, first floor dining (including Der Rathskeller), a two-story coffee shop and the general floor plans, then comment on their impressions.

“These are all ideas and not set concepts, so we welcome any comments or reactions,” says Katie Cary, MUR student project manager. 

“There will be no major changes to the footprint of the building, at least not above ground,” she adds. “Plus there are some ‘sacred spaces’ that will only see restoration, not major renovation, including the Main Lounge, Great Hall, Tripp Commons, and Der Rathskeller’s seating area.” 

MUR staff has been revising the designs since June. The open forum was planned to get input from the campus community and public — including students — after ideas were generated but before major decisions were made. The union will take the information from the public forum and use it to guide further planning with the design team.

Architects will craft a final design proposal, which the union’s Design Committee (a 15-member shared governance body with a student majority) will review. The Design Committee will make recommendations to Union Council, which will need to approve the final plans for the project. The architects will then submit the plans to the Board of Regents, the campus Design Review Board, Joint Southeast Campus Committee, the Wisconsin Historical Society and the State Building Commission.

The union hopes to reach approval from all of these entities in the early spring of 2014.

The initial MUR phase — renovating the west wing including Hoofers and the Union Theater — will wrap up in fall 2014, with the reopening of the theater to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

The Memorial Union Reinvestment (MUR) project continues to progress on schedule. The renovated Outdoor Recreation facilities will open officially this fall and the Wisconsin Union Theater, Craftshop, Play Circle, new accessible entrance and other improvements will open in summer 2014.

—Marc Kennedy