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Student Union Groundbreaking Well-Attended

By Justine Benzen
UW-RF News Bureau

APRIL 8, 2005--Administrators, staff, students, community members, the architect’s representative, and a member of the Board of Regents attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new student union at UW-River Falls April 5.

The event was held at the south entrance of the Kleinpell Fine Arts Building overlooking the South Fork of the Kinnickinnic River and the building site, where excavation began in February.

"The new student center will be located in the heart of the campus, linking the east- and west-end residence halls to the academic core," said Interim Chancellor Virgil Nylander.

Speakers included: Nylander, Bob Sievert, director of student life operations, student Nick Sirek, chair of the facilities and fees board, Jan van den Kieboom, principal of Workshop Architects in Milwaukee, Beth Richlen, University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, and Mary Halada, vice chancellor for administration and finance.

The student union is designed to be a hub of campus life, as a center for students to visit friends, attend meetings, study, eat, and participate in student activities.

"The building will serve as a symbol of what UW-River Falls is all about," said Sievert. "It is a building involving the student body, great faculty and student rapport, and a sense of academic community."

The $34 million facility, funded entirely by student fees, will bring all food services under one roof and provide space for student life programming including student government and organizations. The building will include an entertainment complex, bookstore, bank, coffee shop, convenience store, banquet hall, theater-style meeting room and a conference room.

Mary Halada read a greeting sent by Chancellor-elect Donald Betz. "This building will link the efforts of many groups and individuals," Betz said. "The new student union will serve the living and learning needs of all who look to the University as an integral part of their lives."

The building incorporates features that are designed to be ecologically and environmentally sustainable, including use of natural daylight to illuminate the architecture, the use of recycled building materials, recycling of construction waste and stored rainwater for toilet fixtures.

Designed after the some of the principles of a "green building," the student union will consume 40 percent less energy than any other student center of similar type in the Upper Midwest.

The north side of the building will emulate the traditional modernist style of existing academic buildings, while the south side will mimic the Kinni’s natural ecosystem with a curved "organic" design.

The new student union is expected to be open spring 2007.

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Last updated: Tuesday, 12-Apr-2005 11:13:49 CDT