UWM EMS

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (EMS) building recently completed a 25,000-square-foot renovation, upgrading its laboratories, collaborative spaces, support spaces, offices and graduate workspaces.

Designed by Continuum Architects + Planners, the UWM EMS renovation project creates functional laboratory space within the confines of an existing 1970’s building. Within the 13,400-square-foot research laboratory space’s collaboration areas and classroom vestibules, Continuum specified Rockfon® Spanair® Metal Torsion Spring concealed ceiling panels.

Performance Contracting Inc. (PCI) installed Rockfon’s fully concealed metal ceiling system with 2-by-4-foot panels finished in a high-tech, reflective Satin Silver color and a custom linear perforation pattern. Balancing the lively communal spaces and quieter learning areas on the 9th and 10th floors, acoustic enhancements and perforations allow these metal panels to provide excellent sound absorption with a high Noise Reduction Coefficient of up to 0.90 NRC.¹

According to Continuum, the UWM EMS renovation “puts science on display, making it visible to others.”³

The improved interiors offer an attractive, comfortable, safe and healthy learning environment. Choosing Rockfon ceiling products with best-level sound absorption promotes comfortable interiors, where students can concentrate on their research, clearly understand their instructors and communicate with each other. Rockfon Spanair Metal Torsion Spring Panels are non-combustible and have a Class A Fire Rating. Metal does not support mold, mildew or potentially harmful microorganisms. The ceiling’s material performance properties further contribute to the well-being of UWM’s students, faculty and staff.

Supporting UWM’s sustainable and operational goals, Rockfon Spanair Metal Torsion Spring Panels metal ceiling systems are manufactured with up to 85 percent recycled content and provide pin-pointed access to the plenum for future updates to the electrical, audio/visual, IT and other systems. These aluminum panels feature edge springs, which allow the panels to nest in place and easily demount for simplified installation and maintenance. The ceiling panels require minimal care and cleaning during their long lifespan, saving labor and material costs and at the end of their years of service are 100 percent locally recyclable.

Facilities make a difference in recruiting students interested in STEM and retaining faculty, according to Robin Van Harpen, senior vice chancellor for finance and administrative Affairs at UWM. She said, “Students are attracted to updated facilities because they can better support interactive learning and the skills that today’s employers need.”⁴

Completed in May 2022, the UWM EMS building’s updated facilities feature Rockfon Spanair Metal Torsion Spring concealed ceiling panels with a high-tech aesthetic, highly sustainable material and high sound absorption that balances collaboration and concentration in a flexible, research-focused, learning environment.

^Sources

^{¹ Continuum, https://www.continuumarchitects.com/portfolios/duplicated-uw-madison-chemical-biological-engineering-lab-pre-design-study-3050/, accessed Nov. 1, 2023; Continuum, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7053560436109053952; April 2023; UWM Report, https://uwm.edu/news/building-projects-could-reshape-uwms-main-campus-over-next-five-years/; June 9, 2022; UWM, https://uwm.edu/sustainability/what-we-do/green-building/leed-buildings/, accessed Nov. 2, 2023}

^{² Continuum, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7053560436109053952; April 2023; UWM Report, https://uwm.edu/news/building-projects-could-reshape-uwms-main-campus-over-next-five-years/; June 9, 2022}

^{³ Continuum, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7053560436109053952; April 2023}

^{⁴ UWM Report, https://uwm.edu/news/building-projects-could-reshape-uwms-main-campus-over-next-five-years/; June 9, 2022}