University Of Wisconsin-Madison Unveils A Sustainable Computer Science Lab

Computer science may happen on screens, but at Morgridge Hall, it unfolds just as often in the spaces between them. A collaboration between LMN and architect of record Kahler Slater, the 343,000-square-foot building is the first permanent on-campus home for the university’s School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences, creating a destination for in-person active learning. Embodying CDIS’s human-centered approach, classrooms and research labs radiate from a skylit central atrium lined with terracelike work/lounge hubs that encourage socialization. Pulling daylight into all seven floors, the volume is encircled by a winding staircase with wood guardrails, their perforation patterning—drawn from weaving traditions of the Ho-Chunk, a Native American tribe whose ancestral homelands are in present-day Wisconsin—lending a biophilic touch. “Our guiding principles were that it would be a ‘lighthouse’ for technology innovation and the most sustainable building on campus,” says LMN principal Mark Tumiski, listing features like solar panels and a stormwater-capture system. Certified LEED Platinum, the facility sets a new standard for tech education that is good for people and the planet.

Morgridge Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by LMN, Sustainability Giants #47