The Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI), the newest alternate energy research center in the U.S., is fulfilling a prime objective—creating random opportunities for scientists of various disciplines to casually communicate. The five-story, 104,000-sf research center is on the Univ. of Wisconsin (UW) campus in Madison, Wis. Designed by the St. Louis office of HOK and Madison-based Potter Lawson, the $57.1 million facility hosts renewable energy systems research. It was funded by the state of Wisconsin.

The largest tenant of the collaboration-centric WIE is the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), one of three BRCs tasked by the U.S. Dept. of Energy to conduct research that generates technology to convert cellulosic biomass to ethanol and other biofuels. Previously, GLBRC’s 200-plus biologists, geologists and engineers were stationed in 15 facilities across the UW campus. The WEI is also home to the UW Energy Institute, the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative and the Center for Renewable Energy Systems.

“HOK’s performance exceeded expectations,” stated Dr. Tim Donohue, GLBRC director and UW prof. of bacteriology. “Certain functional and sustainability features were a high priority for us. HOK and the project team made them a reality. They delivered an outstanding project on an aggressive schedule on-time and within budget.”