The University of Wisconsin-Platteville has long had a reputation for producing some of the Midwest’s top engineering students and aims to continue that success. The school’s plan is to have Sesquicentennial Hall “transform the way UW-Platteville educates the next generation of engineering leaders.” Thanks to the use of zinc tiles on the exterior, provided by Sheet Metal Supply of Grayslake, IL, the building similarly impacts the school's campus visually too.

Sesquicentennial Hall, which is connected to the existing Busby Hall of Engineering, is a 200,000-square-foot new structure, created to support interdisciplinary engineering and computer science. A key to the success of the project was the exterior aesthetics. Sheet Metal Supply provided 10,000 RHEINZINK-prePATINA ECO ZINC Flat Lock Tiles, covering 9,000 square feet of the façade.

“The design for Sesquicentennial Hall is grounded on three themes: campus context, sustainability, and the visual expression of engineering,” says Craig Peterson, Principal and Design Leader at BWBR. “As an addition to the existing engineering hall, as well as ensuring a good fit with the campus, the material palette and colors and building massing and form provide a strong visual connection. The exterior materials as selected optimize sustainable best practices. Visual patterns and detailing provide a layering of elements that convey a spirit of rigor, quality, and thoroughness in alignment with principles of engineering.

“The façade’s metal panel wall system plays a key role in response to all three design themes. The material in similar applications and color is evident elsewhere on campus so it reinforces Sesquicentennial Hall’s contribution. The material is inherently sustainable and acts as an assemblage of components, performing as a system, thus reinforcing a visual application of engineering.”

The 8-inch by 16-inch tiles were manufactured from RHEINZINK-prePATINA ECO ZINC Blue Grey material.

“Sesquicentennial Hall is successful in the way it engages and defines the engineering district on campus,” Peterson says. “The architecture responds to existing campus architecture in a way that promotes a sense of belonging while also uniquely expressing itself as something new and innovative. Campus space is also created to visually ground the building and provide active and purposeful outdoor space. As home to many disciplines of engineering, Sesquicentennial Hall is high performing in support of these programs, serving students and faculty in pursuit of their learning and teaching.”