Factory direct

Kenilworth gives university needed space

By Janine Anderson

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee needed more student housing and studio space for the Peck School for the Arts.

As it turned out, the university already had the space; it just needed someone to renovate it to meet the school's needs. And that's where HGA Architects and Engineers Inc. and KBS Construction Inc. stepped in, turning two old factories that UWM owned since 1971 into buildings that suit the modern needs of the campus.

The original factory was used by the Ford Motor Company before the federal government took over the structure and connected it to a second factory built and used in the 1940s for ammunition production.

When the university took over the structures, they were used as a physical plant and for mail services.

Turning those old buildings into usable space presented an interesting challenge, said David Lang, HGA's project designer. Ultimately, he said, the structures determined how the project team went about the renovation work.

	Project Name: The Kenilworth Building Location: Milwaukee Submitting Companies: HGA Architects and Engineers Inc., Milwaukee; KBS Construction Inc., Milwaukee General Contractor: KBS Construction Inc. Project Leaders: Kevin Allebach, HGA's project architect; David Lang, HGA's designer; Dave Rhoda, KBS' project manager; Jim Shields, HGA's designer; Jim Vander Heiden, HGA's principal; d'Andre Willis, HGA's project manager Architect: HGA Architects and Engineers Inc. Engineers: Design Build Fire Protection, Waukesha, and HGA Architects and Engineers Inc., fire-protection engineers; EMCS Inc., Milwaukee, civil engineer; Grunau Co. Inc., Oak Creek, and HGA Architects and Engineers Inc., HVAC engineers; J.F. Ahern Co., Fond du Lac, and HGA Architects and Engineers Inc., plumbing engineers; Roman Electric Co., Milwaukee, and HGA Architects and Engineers Inc., electrical engineers Owner: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Project Cost: $48 million Project Size: 500,000 square feet Start Date: March 2005 Completion Date: October 2006

"The design came from the history of the buildings," Lang said. "The factory was built for daylight. They didn't rely on good artificial lighting. Now artists use that."

But before the team could worry about lighting, it had to separate the two old structures. The Ford plant on Farwell Avenue became new student housing with 370 loft-style apartments. The building built by the federal government is now studio and research space for the Peck School for the Arts. The project also added retail space on the ground floor.

HGA and KBS also had to retrofit the decades-old buildings for the modern needs of the students and artists, many of whom work in digital media.

"The Peck school had highly technological systems," said Dave Rhoda, KBS' project manager. "Each floor was specialized for the visual arts, dance performance, theater."

The student-housing apartments have high ceilings and exposed ductwork, with huge windows that let in lots of daylight. The same applies to the artists' studios.

"It was very straightforward," Rhoda said. "With the industrial integrity, we just wanted to keep that feel."

While the two buildings are primarily for the university, they also give something back to the neighborhood. Between the two structures is a path that leads to the Oak Leaf Trail.

The trail was built on the tracks that used to carry finished Model Ts away from the factory. Now, the path connects the neighborhood to the trail and is only open to pedestrians and bicycles.