Union South wins state design award, Best in Show

A year after opening, Union South is impressing more than the 5,500 students, faculty, staff and visitors who populate the building daily. 

At an annual awards ceremony for the state construction industry, Union South was named Best in Show of the 30 top projects in Wisconsin, sharing the honor with the engineering hall project at Marquette University. The award recognized Union South for its “elegant design, student involvement, and multi-purpose, unique spaces.”

The Daily Reporter, a Wisconsin construction industry online periodical, honored 30 projects recently as the Top Projects of 2011 from over a hundred submissions.  There were three UW–Madison projects recognized — Biochemistry, the Chazen Museum and Union South.

“I am thrilled that Union South was recognized by the construction industry not only for creating a beautiful, timeless building but also for the community-building process which focused on student involvement,” says Shayna Hetzel, former Union president and Union South project manager. “That is a true testament to our team and the mission of the Wisconsin Union.”

More than 30,000 students were involved in the project either via focus groups, surveys and open forums, or by serving on the various design committees. Their input was vital to direct project priorities involving design principals, sustainability, amenities and functionality.

“More students participated in designing this project than perhaps any building attempted,” says Jan van den Kieboom, principal from Workshop Architects.

Union Director Mark Guthier called the award a testament to the hard work of the team involved in the project especially the students and other stakeholders who dedicated so much time and effort to it

“During the whole process they kept true to the basic design principles of making Union South a sustainable structure that would be a ‘people magnet,’ which the building has become,” Guthier says. 

Union South was a $94.8 million project funded mainly by UW–Madison student segregated fees approved in a 2006 referendum, along with Union operating revenue, gift funds, and assistance from building tenants and project partners including DoIT, UW Transportation, UW Credit Union and the campus Visitor Information Program.

Union South is a 276,664 square-foot building featuring four self-operated restaurants, a movie theater, coffeehouse and wine bar, ice cream shop, art gallery, retail and recreation venues including bowling and a climbing wall, meeting rooms featuring 1,200 square-foot Varsity Hall, a 60-room eco-boutique hotel and a host of other event spaces.

— Marc Kennedy