Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Concrete Slab Falls from UW-Madison Campus Building

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/07/21

A large concrete slab, part of the façade of Van Hise Hall on the campus of UW-Madison in Madison, Wis., fell three stories and crashed near the building’s entrance on Sunday. No injuries were reported. Campus officials are working to discover the cause of the collapse.

“We’re grateful no one was hurt and are working diligently to understand what caused this to occur and what action may be needed to keep everyone safe,” said Lori Getter, public safety communications specialist. “We will provide more information as it becomes available.”

Getter elaborated that there was no construction work in progress that would have triggered the collapse. Van Hise is home to multiple academic departments and offices in the University of Wisconsin System.

Van Hise Hall was built in 1965. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers recommended earlier this year that part of his $1 billion Capital Budget be used to demolish and consolidate campus buildings—including Van Hise. The project is tentatively slated to begin in Sept. 2025.

Wisconsin Public Radio reports that many state university buildings built in the 1960s and 1970s are starting to age and have demonstrated “similar exterior issues.” A 2005 master plan for UW-Madison recommended the building’s demolition sometime in the next 20 years, but the 2015 master plan pushed that demolition to at least 2035.

“Van Hise Hall has exterior envelopes not unlike other buildings throughout UW System that are aging and in disrepair,” the UW System said in a Tweet on Monday. “It’s why over 83% of our capital budget is for renovation and replacement. Van Hise Hall is not even on our short list, but Albertson Hall and Cofrin Library face similar exterior issues and improving them is critical.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • New Jersey Day School Opens New Science & Entrepreneurship Building

    Saddle River Day School (SRDS) in Saddle River, N.J., recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Dr. Kristen Walsh Hall of Science & Entrepreneurship, according to a news release. The school partnered with DIG Architecture on the 32,000 square foot facility, completed on a 17-month construction timeline in time for the beginning of the new school year.

  • Auburn University Debuts $224M STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., recently opened its new $224-million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest research construction project in the university’s history, according to university news. The facility measures more than 265,000 square feet and brings six departments from the College of Agriculture and College of Sciences and Mathematics together under one roof.

  • UPenn Announces Completion of New Veterinary Education Facility

    The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn., recently finished construction on an 11,800-square-foot veterinary education building, according to a news release. The Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education is the first dedicated classroom facility at the New Bolton Center, a large-animal hospital and campus about 35 miles west of the campus proper.

  • Photo courtesy of Kraus-Anderson

    Concordia College Completes Memorial Auditorium Renovations

    Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., recently completed a $2.5-million renovation project to Memorial Auditorium, a news release reports. The college partnered with Kraus-Anderson for the project’s construction and ICON Architectural Group for its design.