UW-Milwaukee Chemistry Building

Project Name: UW-Milwaukee Chemistry Building

Location: Milwaukee, WI

Completion Date: 2023

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has built a new, $118 million Chemistry Building—an innovative, four-story, 163,400-square-foot facility designed to advance scientific education, research, and industry partnerships. Replacing a 1972-era building, the new space features cutting-edge laboratories, flexible classrooms, and collaborative learning areas to support over 3,500 students annually in fast-growing fields like medicine, pharmaceutics, and nanoscience. With design and construction spanning six years, the building reflects UWM’s commitment to fueling Wisconsin’s STEM talent pipeline and enhancing research capabilities in areas like materials science and environmental chemistry. Highlights include student-centered lecture halls, a public outreach lab, and a kilo lab for industrial-scale chemistry.

ASI played a critical role in the success of the UWM Chemistry Building by engineering and delivering a highly complex ceiling panel system for the lecture halls that met both functional and aesthetic objectives. The project’s main challenge – designing a double-arched ceiling on a slant that wrapped down onto the walls, repeated seven times – demanded advanced coordination and problem-solving. To achieve a cohesive visual effect, ASI precisely arranged the panels to originate from the same piece of wood, maintaining a continuous grain pattern across 260 uniquely shaped, quadrilateral panels.

ASI’s Design and Innovation Group transformed the customer’s 2D CAD drawings into 3D data, enabling more efficient and accurate manufacturing. This 3D model also supported the installation team in troubleshooting and planning around several field conditions. ASI further guided contractors to build the walls after ceiling installation to ensure exact alignment with the ceiling panels.

To streamline installation, ASI produced detailed shop drawings, labeled rooms, and individually tagged each panel. They also collaborated closely with the construction team to integrate HVAC and heating ductwork into the ceiling system. A full-scale mockup was constructed to validate the engineering and design. Despite the technical complexity, ASI’s innovative approach and rigorous coordination resulted in a seamless, high-quality installation.

Project Summary