Mike Leckrone, UW-Madison professor of music and band director, remembers the tear gas, student protests and troops with fixed bayonets outside the Humanities Building in the late '60s during the Vietnam War.
The wonderful thing was once you got into rehearsal, all the things going on would cause you to lose focus [of the war],"" Leckrone said. ""[The Humanities Building] was an oasis from some of the turmoil going on at that time.""
The university plans to tear down the Humanities Building, constructed in 1969, and rebuild it to include more rehearsal, performance and classroom space.
Despite his fond memories of the building, Leckrone recognizes the inevitable fate of the Humanities Building, the same fate of other modernist buildings on campus.
Modernist buildings, popularly constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, were usually poorly designed and built, according to Arnold Alanen, UW-Madison professor of landscape architecture.
""From the practicality of the building, it is about time we looked into building something new eventually,"" Leckrone said.
The university struggles between preserving historic buildings and rebuilding them to enhance the university's modern appeal.
The plight of modernist design
According to Alanen, the university's threat to tear down buildings made in the 1960s and '70s prevents modernist architecture from remaining part of the university's history.
Conversely, buildings constructed a century ago were not torn down, such as the Dairy Barn, Education Building and University Club, and will remain a part of UW's history.
""Some of the buildings - such as Humanities - reflect the intellectual and theoretical aspects of modernist architecture,"" Alanen said. He added that the Humanities Building includes architecture future students will no longer have the opportunity to observe.
""Although modernist buildings are hard to love, it may very well be that the appreciation for them will grow over time,"" Alanen said. ""The conundrum is, of course, that they may all be gone by the time this appreciation emerges.""
Alanen said the buildings that endanger students or become obsolete are the ones in need of complete demolition and rebuilding, such as E.B. Fred Hall. Built in the 1950s, it was recently replaced by the Microbial Science Building because, despite its architectural significance, its labs were inadequate for studying contemporary science.
History set in stone
While the university may demolish some modernist buildings on campus, it also makes an effort to restore and preserve the older, more historic, buildings. These distinct buildings create an educational experience for students and make the university as a whole appear more ""historic,"" according to Mary Rouse, former Dean of Students.
In keeping with the ""historic"" feel of campus, representatives from the state, UW Campus and School of Education plan to carry out a ""respectful renovation"" of the Education Building from January 2009 to Fall 2010, said Julie Underwood, dean of the School of Education. The building project includes restoring the late 19th century Education Building.
""We anticipate this building being heavily used by all students for classes and the like not only throughout the day, but into the evening hours,"" said John Paine, facilities manager for the School of Education.
According to Underwood, the building project will hopefully cater to the needs of modern students while keeping its historical aspect.
""We think [the renovation] is going to just provide the ability to show prospective students not only what the School of Education is all about but also an opportunity to see a [1900s-era] building that's been restored back to its glory days,"" Underwood said.
The renovated Education Building will also include 10 ""technologically advanced"" classrooms, according to Paine.
""We want a building that shows some respect to education ... as a process and as a profession,"" Underwood said.
Other historic buildings on campus serve as a marketing tool for drawing in new students, such as the Red Gym, built in 1894.
Eleven years ago, the Red Gym was redesigned from a gymnasium into a center for Student Orientation Programs and the Admissions Office, to help the large student body find their interests on campus.
The Red Gym's rich history made it a prime candidate for renovation instead of demolition.
""The first basketball game ever played was in that building,"" said Robert Corbett, project architect for the Red Gym. ""Lafollette launched his presidential
campaign from that building.""
The university also decided to preserve the Red Gym because of its architectural features.
""Given the Red Gym's distinctive architecture and central location, we thought it would be ideal to historically preserve it and adaptively use it for frontline services,"" Rouse said.
""The university uses old buildings with rich history
as a selling point and an attraction,"" Rouse said. ""Students think: 'If these buildings are so old, the school must be historical.'""
Even so, it takes campus buildings of all eras - both historical and contemporary - to attract UW's wide range of students.
""Not all buildings can be preserved, but on a campus it is essential that examples of all historical periods be represented,"" Alanen said.
Historic buildings, modern amenities
Upgrading the buildings with contemporary facilities will not necessarily destroy the historic significance for students, according to John Barnhardt, UW-Madison senior and president of the Wisconsin Union.
For instance, after Union South is rebuilt, the university will work on the historical preservation of the Memorial Union.
""That building was built when there were 10,000 students on campus,"" Barnhardt said. ""Now we have over 40,000 students, so it really needs some serious upgrades.""
The Memorial Union building project will include re-exposing the original work, which was covered up during the last renovation. The project will also include a renovation of the theater, Main Lounge and administrative offices.
Old can still be green
Despite the historical significance lost when replacing buildings, the new ones will have the opportunity to incorporate more green or environmentally friendly building techniques and products.
""If you talk about green architecture, reusing a building is the best way of recycling it,"" said Joe DeRose, staff historian of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Incorporating open green areas on campus is also a concern with new construction.
Chancellor Wiley's East Campus Gateway Plan involves making a strip running from Memorial Union to the Kohl Center, forming one big pedestrian mall of green space.
""It is just a gateway so as people are driving through, they can tell once they are on University of Wisconsin property,"" Barnhardt said.
According to Corbett, natural spaces and open environments are critical to campus design. He fears the negative effect contemporary buildings - which will replace demolished buildings such as Union South and Humanities - will have on the ambience of campus.
For example, on University Square, the Lucky Apartments are built straight up into the air several stories, blocking sunlight from passersby, Corbett said.
""I don't know if you can have any more lack of concern for the people walking around it than the developers were with that building,"" Corbett said.
Fiscal success
Regardless of the potential historical damage, Alanen believes renovating buildings demonstrates the university's success in receiving donations, both from public and private sources.
For example, alumni donations funded the Education Building renovation and addition.
Despite the possible negative side effects, restoring historic buildings on campus enhances the educational experience of students, according to Alanen.
""These buildings ... allow generations of students - who eventually become alumni - to share some reference points in their education and history on campus,"" Alanen said.
