Union South

KBS Construction performed the cast in place concrete scope of work for the New South Campus Union for the University of Wisconsin Madison.  KBS’ contract included furnishing all labor, equipment, and materials to construct the concrete building structure as well as the necessary steam tunnels and pits required for this project.  This 313,000 sf building structure includes two levels of underground parking, three levels of above-grade combination mild reinforced structural concrete slabs and slab on metal deck with three levels of slab on metal deck topping out the project.  Total project consisted of just over 30,000 cubic yards of concrete and 1,400 ton of rebar. The new building extends to the boundary lines of the property requiring earth retention around the perimeter of the project.  The majority of the exterior foundation walls were poured with a one-sided form system where the exterior face of the concrete wall was formed with the earth retention system that had a water proofing system applied prior to pouring the walls.  This one-sided wall form construction maximized the building’s size on the property. The excavation extended below the level of ground water, common for this part of Madison, requiring a dewatering system.  This presented a coordination challenge that was overcome while placing the concrete foundation.  Some unique concrete features of this building are the cast-in-place concrete auditorium located on the second floor; the radius elevated slabs, round exposed concrete columns, and large structural beams that reached sizes of 32” x 77”.  This project started in July of 2009 and was completed in December of 2010.