Interior Features

The interior of the four-story Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery building has been designed with care and imagination to deliver on the promise of collaboration and research leading to a better world.

The ground floor houses a vibrant Town Center for use by scientists, the university community and the community at large. It includes a restaurant, a dairy bar and a bakery/coffee bar; “breakout” rooms for meetings and outreach events; and a round forum in the middle, designed for flexible use.

Floors two through four house research laboratories. Each floor includes a research pod (workspace) dedicated to the private Morgridge Institute, a research pod for the public Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and an integrated pod for scientists from both institutes. The lower level also houses specialty laboratories which may require more complex utilities and high ceilings.

Two atria on either side of the building (one to the north and one to the south) insulate the research labs from traffic noise, provide ample natural lighting from skylights and offer views of the Town Center below.

According to Craig Spangler, principal at Ballinger and design lead on the project, “Many buildings have an internal atrium. In this case, we’ve put the atrium on both sides. We want the building to be approachable from any side and very open, so the public can see what’s going on inside. The idea of having an externalized commons is one of the things that makes this building unique.”

• Straight halls are non-existent; spaces are flexibly open to encourage interaction and accommodate collaboration.
• Common areas invite large and small group discussion and discovery.
• "Communicating stairs," open and wider than utilitarian stairs, with room at the landings to pause for conversation or enjoy a view of the outdoors, bring people together.
• Smart boards and flat screens are close at hand.
• Labs were designed so they can be changed to match wet or dry research needs to provide flexible long-term use.

• This is the first research facility at UW–Madison constructed with a geothermal heating system.