Milwaukee’s future is inextricably tied to the Inner Harbor and the estuary on which is was built. Our port city is full of economic potential, untapped ecological resilience and the pure urban drama inherent in a working waterfront.
If Milwaukee is to transform its industrial identity into that of an international hub for ecology progressive water technologies, the Inner Harbor should be a demonstration to the world of possibilities inherent in that economic and ecological vision.
The Inner Harbor project, led by Prof. Jim Wasley, is a unique effort for UW Milwaukee's School of Architecture and Urban Planning. While we have always been involved with issues of growth and change within the City, this is a concerted effort to focus the School’s talents on one problem. The project consists of a school-wide effort to advance public discussion and generate ideas for re-imagining the Inner Harbor, It has sponsored national and international speakers including Herbert Dreiseitl, Peter Busby, Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, and Hillary Brown. Having just concluded its fourth year, the Inner Harbor Project has involved over 60 classes and touched over 500 students at UW-Milwaukee, UW-Madison and the Illinois Insititute of Technology.
The Inner Harbor was once the preferred location of ironworks, train yards, print shops, lumber yards, tanneries, and fuel storage. The district was also a valued transfer location where water, rail, and urban neighborhoods met and co-mingled. Today it is a still important part of the city at the interface between land and water. Industrial processes still take place, but large scale places of work have been replaced by bulk storage and smaller scale enterprises.
The focus of this study is to undertake urban research and design speculations that seek not only to increase use and valuation of the district, but also the design quality and environmental performance of a place that must meet the needs of future generations.
Recently, the Inner Harbor Project presented the work of the Fall 2014 semester at the Rockwell Automation headquarters in Milwaukee.
Projects presented included design studios taught by Prof. Wasley and Adjunct Prof. Mark Debrauske, a structures course taught by Adjunct Instructor Marco LoRicco and a Civil Engineering Capstone Course on the Madison Campus taught by Adjunct Professor Charles Quagliana.
Each semester, SARUP turns into a beehive of creative activity, with the collective energy of students and faculty resulting in projects and presentations that excite and intrigue, as they generate enquiry into the disciplines of architecture and urban planning. This blog is an attempt to give a glimpse of our life.
No Comments
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.