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University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Ullsvik Center Remodeling & Addition
Project #00L1B

Art Budget: $54,000 (Expected to cover all design and fabrication expenses associated with the project.)
Application/Slide Deadline: February 1, 2007
Eligibility Criteria: All artists from Arts Midwest region are eligible to apply (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin)
Art Schedule
Design Due: Spring 2007
Installation: TBA
Building/Construction Completion: July 2007
Architects: Epstein Uhen Architects, Madison

The Campus

UW-Platteville is one of 13 publicly supported comprehensive universities in the University of Wisconsin System. Founded in 1866, UW-Platteville (UWP) is the oldest public institution in the State of Wisconsin. UWP was founded as the first state teacher-preparation institution in Wisconsin, then called the Platteville Normal School. The University also has roots in the Wisconsin Mining Trade School, established in 1907 to train specialized technicians to work in the mining operations surrounding Platteville. Classes in civil and mining engineering subjects were soon added to the school’s curriculum and its name was changed to the Wisconsin Mining School. The University seal displays two symbols rooted in the school’s beginning. The bell reminds us of the Platteville Normal School where it woke the students each morning, calling them to daily assembly, sounded study hours and signaled the day’s end. The Normal School Bell can still be heard on campus today from its location on the south side of the Pioneer Student Center. The ‘M’ originates from the Wisconsin Mining School and symbolizes the engineering programs and their roots in the mining industry of the Platteville area. As the school nickname implies, the UWP “Pioneers” have created the very foundation for which  they are known. Our leadership in the Colleges of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture; Engineering, Mathematics and Science; and Liberal Arts and Education help students build on the foundation of strong values committed  to excellence in  leadership for a stronger world and a technology knowledge base for the 21st century and beyond. The greater Platteville area, with a population approximating 25,000 people is located in the scenic rolling hills of Southwestern Wisconsin.

The Ullsvik Center

The Ullsvik Center is located at the northeast corner of the UW-Platteville campus. Originally constructed as the Student Center for UWP the building was built in 1959 with expansions in 1965 and 1989. This project demolishes the oldest portion of the building and builds an addition. With its prime location, the Ullsvik Center is located prominently on the east side of campus, making it easy for first time visitors to locate.  The renovated and expanded building will act in some respects as the ‘front porch’ of campus. Services and programs which deal primarily with outside contracts and have heavy visitor traffic will be relocated to this facility. It will become the first spot students visit when considering UWP as their school and the location they return to for years to come as alumni. The facility will provide space for the University’s administrative, support offices, and programs. The project also builds new classrooms, faculty offices and academic staff offices. The existing banquet facilities will remain in the Ullsvik Center. The existing Nohr Art Gallery will also remain and a new natural history museum focusing on Southwest Wisconsin will be added in existing space.

The building design separates the building into four general zones interconnected through a common, two-story entrance lobby. The eastern half of the building (consisting of remodeled existing spaces) will retain the banquet and food service facilities, along with the existing Nohr Art Museum and a new Natural History Museum. The southwest and south central portion of the building will house facilities that reach out to students and the community such as the Visitor’s Center, Student Service Offices, and Alumni Offices and Conference Room. The northwest portion of the building will contain all but two of the programmed general classroom spaces on the lower level. The northwest upper two levels will house faculty and administrative offices, including the Chancellor’s office suite, along with two additional classrooms. The south central portion of the building creates a new, more highly visible, entrance to the building on its south façade, with a two-story main lobby space connecting the spaces outlined above.

On the south side of the building a new main entrance is located in close proximity to the existing vehicle drop-off zone to the south of Ullsvik Center. To the southwest a new sloping landscaped circular form creates an exterior plaza space that has been designed for informal and structured gatherings and also brings light and access directly to the Ground Floor level. The new circular and sloping landscape form provides both lawn and planting areas surrounding the outdoor gathering spaces along the western and southern exposures of the Ground Level. The new south wall of the building opens to views of the campus and natural light with 7’-0” roof overhangs helping to shade glass areas.

Specifications

The campus is interested in an exterior artwork. 

The UW-Platteville campus serves as the cultural magnet for the southeastern region of the state. As a result the general public in addition to UW-Platteville students visits the Ullsvik Hall facility for banquets, social events, along with the Natural History Museum and the Nohr Gallery exhibition openings. The proposed artwork should serve as a beacon welcoming the Platteville community to the campus.

Potential Locations

1. At the Southeast entrance: a 60-70 foot diameter quadrant located between the circle entry, Hickory Street and the new main entrance to the facility.
2. Artwork sited along the pathway to the main entrance on the Southwest side.
3. Artwork may be sited in various locations on the lower level plaza. This plaza is framed by approximately 25% slopes, stairways and gradual handicapped accessible pathways.
4. Additional exterior sites identified by artists may also be considered.

Images: Site Map | Image A | Image B | Image C

Pending the location selected for the artwork, some trees and other landscaping plants may be re-sited to frame the artwork.

Conceptual considerations for the artwork

The committee is seeking exterior artwork would reach out to welcome the community  and alumni  to the campus. The primary audience for the artwork will be UW-Platteville students, faculty and the general public. Imagery with multiple layers of meaning would be viewed as strength. The committee is interested in artwork that:

• Visually expresses the growth that occurs between the time the students first arrive on campus and when they return later as alumni.
• Visually expresses the threshold of a new wave of campus growth.
• Could highlight the cultural events, the Nohr Gallery and the Natural History Museum within the Ullsvik Center;
• Has both a daytime and a night-time presence;
• May utilize light, color, and/or smell;
• May utilize the entire plaza in a conceptual  manner;
• Is timeless, thought provoking and encourages the audience to think in creative ways;
• Gives poetic dimension to the form;
• Is well integrated with the site of the facility;
• Serves as an ambassador—the artwork needs to be appealing and accessible to non-arts people;
• Is nonrepresentational, but not so abstract as to be unrecognizable by faculty & students.

Potential Materials

The selection committee is interested in permanent, durable exterior materials that require minimal maintenance. The selection committee is interested in materials that support the concept of the proposed artwork.

 

Updated: July 10, 2007