The three-story, 92,600-square-foot addition for the School of Freshwater Sciences continues UWM’s 40-year history of innovative water research and is the nation’s first school dedicated to the study of freshwater science. The overall design goal was to create space that encourages collaboration, inspires ideas, celebrates the environment, promotes freshwater research, and attracts global interest. 

The addition’s linear form compliments the narrow site and seamlessly connects to the existing building to promote integration and collaboration between disciplines. The exterior’s southern exposure reflects the movement, flow, and reflectivity of water and incorporates carefully placed sunshades to make the best use of natural light for the interior. The primary functions in the building are interdisciplinary research labs, faculty and student offices, multi-purpose collaboration areas, and instructional spaces. All of these are supported by core facilities for computation, data visualization, genomics, biosecurity (ABSL-3), and trace analysis.