A hands-on course studying the building of the new Overture Center for the Arts, located at the site of the current Madison Civic Center, will begin Friday at UW-Madison. The class, the first of its kind, is being co-sponsored by the UW-Madison Arts Institute and the Overture Foundation and will continue through the semester.
Approximately 60 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled in the course and will study under many international and local professionals involved in the creation of the building. These experts include architects from Cesar Pelli & Associates and the lead project accoustician from Kirkegaard Associates. Local professionals involved with the course include Ralph Jackson, Executive Architect at Potter Lawson & Flad, LLC, and various UW-Madison faculty members. The class will include presentations and a tour of the work site.
The Overture Center for the Arts is currently under construction and completion is expected in 2005.
Ann Haynes, a senior associate at Cesar Pelli & Associates, is optimistic about the objective of the class.
\Half of our job is learning to work with different experts in different fields,"" she said. ""It is great that this class is being taught while the building is being constructed. We are concerned also with the education of architects and a lot of the developments, not just architecture.""
George Austin, president of the Overture Development Corporation views the introduction of this class as an opportunity to strengthen the partnership between the university and the community.
""It provides an excellent opportunity with the university's various art departments,"" he said. ""A project of this nature isn't constructed very often, and to hear from the various building and design individuals is a great opportunity for interaction.""
The undergraduate course offered during the 1999-2000 school year dealt with the Overture project and the Arts District in downtown Madison. However, this is the first time a course of this nature will bring international professionals to campus. Tino Balio, the Executive Director of UW-Madison's Arts Institute, emphasizes the unique opportunity presented.
""The class will bring to campus international design consultants and architects. It would probably be impossible to bring these people in to participate on our own. So we are taking advantage of the project for a class taught by professionals in the design field,"" he said.
Each class will be taped and available to all other students interested in the course content.
