Wisconsin-based Frisbie Architects in association with Missouri-based Mackey Mitchell Architects have been selected to work on the project. The MSC Renovation Design Committee is working closely with the architects to make decisions regarding the look of the centre. The renovated student centre will join the new $43 million Jarvis Hall science building in making the area ‘the centre of campus’.
The 1985-constructed building has to be modernised and the renovation scheme has been designed to open up space inside the building for student organizations, dining, socializing and other activities. The interior of the renovated structure will be flooded with natural sunlight. Another goal is to make the building ‘a hub of student activity’.
The renovation will create a ‘town-square atmosphere’ that will draw students together, promoting interaction and socialising. The project will relocate food services, student organizations, the student newspaper, student government, the bookstore and the service centre. It will reconfigure and relocate meeting rooms, add lounge space, create a central community gathering space and provide better physical connection and circulation between the two floors.
The two main entrances will be reconfigured and expanded to become more recognizable and welcoming. All the interior finishes of the remodelled areas will be updated. The project will upgrade the building’s mechanical, HVAC, electrical, windows, plumbing and telecommunications and life-safety systems.
The project to renovate the 25-year-old Wisconsin-Stout MSC is scheduled to be considered in September 2010 by the Wisconsin State Building Commission. If approved, the project will commence in January 2011, with a scheduled completion by March 2012. The building will be closed during construction.
