News releases

May 25, 2009

TO: Photo editors, news directors
FROM: Janet Kelly, 608-890-1491, 608-772-2868, jkelly@warf.org
RE: ADVISORY: MAY 26 PHOTO OPPORTUNITY 'TOPPING OUT' FOR WISCONSIN INSTITUTES FOR DISCOVERY

The construction team (http://wids.live.acumium.com/home/discovery/facility/construction-process/construction-team/) of the new Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery (http://discovery.wisc.edu) will hold a "topping-out" ceremony, traditional in the building industry to recognize the construction milestone of placing and welding the last beam at the top of a building. This event will mark the completion of the external framework for the innovative facility, to be completed in December 2010.

Members of the Findorff Mortenson crew will sign the beam, painted white and adorned with a living tree, during a celebratory luncheon, and then watch as the beam and tree are hoisted and welded into place atop the four-story structure. Photos of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) board of trustees participating in a similar ceremony earlier this month are available at http://wids.live.acumium.com/link.acux/fe8765c0-9cde-44c5-8b32-98cea5ab32fb/home/discovery/facility/construction-process/Topping%20Out%20Ceremony.cmsx.

Building construction managers and workers will be available for interviews on site.

The luncheon and signing of the beam by workers will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, at the south end of the building site in the 1300 block of University Avenue. Enter on Campus Drive just before Orchard Street. Protective gear is required and supplied on site.

Speeches by members of the construction team will begin at noon, and the beam will be hoisted and welded into place at 12:15 p.m.

Facility facts:

- 98 percent of the materials removed during deconstruction of the prior buildings on the site have been recycled or reused.

- 564 miles of rebar have been used in construction of the facility.

- Each of the four floors (one below ground and three above) contains 2,200 yards of concrete and weighs 9 million pounds, totaling nearly 9,000 yards and 36 million pounds of concrete.

- 2,200 pieces of structural steel and 210,000 man-hours have been used to build the facility

- Worker safety is a top priority on the site, with no current lost time due to injury.

- Construction of the project is on time and under budget.

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