Trends Summer 2018 | Page 6

STRATEGIC SEQUENCING Carefully coordinated scheduling critical to success of largest project in history of Wisconsin campus. By Kay Kruse-Stanton T he project was like completing an enormous Rubik’s Cube: Each activity had to be completed in turn, and maintaining the correct sequence on schedule was crucial to success. But this “Rubik’s Cube” took three years to finish – at a cost of about $63.5 million: the University of Wisconsin-River Falls’ Falcon Center for Health, Education, and Wellness. The project included remodeling 14,670 square feet of the existing Hunt-Knowles Athletic complex, wrapping 6│ TRENDS that facility with a new 162,300-square-foot addition, and completing improvements to the general area of the athletic complex, including an artificial turf field and a 720-stall parking lot. And all that work – remodeling and new construction – had to be timed so that sports and recreational activities could continue with as little interruption as possible. “The campus was open during the project, and the athletic facilities were needed,” remembered Ayres