The “Hello World” lecture hall in Morgridge Hall. Courtesy: Brittany Elandt.
With just over a month until the start of a new academic year, the final touches are being put on UW–Madison’s newest academic building: Morgridge Hall.
After
more than two years of construction, the nearly 350,000-square-foot facility,
named after longtime UW donors John and Tashia Morgridge, will open to students this fall. It will be the new home of the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS).
As members of the RO team toured Morgridge Hall on July 17, it was abuzz with activity. Outside under an overcast sky, construction crews worked on the space leading to the building’s main entrance. Inside, an artist scurried past carrying a sewing machine.
A view of an art installation and greenery inside Morgridge Hall. Courtesy: Aaron Apel.
That energy and life is built right into the walls. Natural wood panels line the open atrium, and the myriad plants in the building’s lower level have (at least informally) earned it the name “garden level” versus basement.
It’s those features, and all of the collaborative spaces designed with students in mind, that truly give Morgridge Hall a feeling of being intentionally designed, RO administrative and budget manager Steve Sisson says.
Seeing the spaces we support
In addition to the locally controlled rooms assigned by CDIS, Morgridge Hall will also add nine general assignment classrooms to the university’s portfolio, for which the RO will assign classes during instructional times. After hours, the RO and CDIS will split the responsibility for scheduling the spaces. This will provide flexibility while making sure everyone’s needs – whether that’s for a midterm exam location, a place for a student organization to meet, or student-reservable study space – are met.
Seeing the space up close was especially meaningful for Brittany Elandt, who previously worked as an undergraduate advisor for the Department of Computer Sciences and whose husband is an alumnus of the program.
“I was working for Computer Sciences when CDIS was launched in 2019 and bringing the departments of Computer Sciences, Statistics, and the iSchool together under one roof was always a part of those early conversations,” she says. “The new Morgridge Hall is a stunning physical representation of the commitment to CDIS’s future and I’m so excited for the students, faculty, and staff to have this central hub for collaboration in teaching, learning, research, and innovation.”
Check it out
If you’d like to see the new building for yourself, a
community open house is planned for September 30 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Another open house will take place during Homecoming on October 10 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. If you can’t wait that long, a
virtual walk-through is available.