Associates’ Angi Goodwin, the site and civil project
manager. “Keeping the facilities open for sports and
athletics events on campus was a real challenge.”
The Wisconsin Department of Administration, Division
of Facilities Development and Management, hired
Ayres Associates for design and construction services
for the project. Ayres partnered with Hastings+Chivetta
for the work, joining Ayres’ expertise in site design and
construction administration with the Missouri-based firm’s
experience in instructional facility design. Initial planning
for the project – the largest in the history of the university
– began in the early 1990s with an analysis pointing ou t
deficiencies in the UW-RF athletic facilities. After several
unsuccessful attempts to gain funding, the State of
Wisconsin committed to the project as part of the 2011-13
biennial budget.
ACCOMMODATING STUDENTS,
STAFF, AND RESIDENTS
From the start, the Falcon Center project team
recognized the critical importance of scheduling. The work
would affect nearly all of the university’s athletic activities,
instruction for hundreds of students enrolled in Health and
Human Performance program classes, students and staff,
and people in the City of River Falls. And success for each
portion of the three-year construction project hinged on
completing tasks in turn and on schedule.
“The scheduling was complex,” said UW-RF Facilities
Engineer Timothy Thum. “Ayres put together a multi-phase
plan that we used throughout the construction project
that allowed the contractors to get their work completed
and let UW-RF continue using the existing venues.”
Site improvements began in summer 2014. Fields
for varsity soccer and varsity football practice had to be
provided for student athletes – but those fields were
located right where a staging area needed to be for
building construction and where the new parking lot
was planned.
The answer? Installing artificial turf early in the phasing
at nearby Ramer Field so the facility could accommodate
more student use, providing needed time so replacement
fields could be constructed and grass established. The
artificial turf is a versatile surface that accommodates
many functions, Goodwin said. But even that project had
to be coordinated with another engineering firm’s plans
for reconstruction of the Ramer Field press box. Careful
coordination of the work allowed the stadium to be
completed on schedule.
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