Through a national competition, Western Michigan University selected Holabird & Root to retrofit its existing 189,000-s.f. Wood Hall, originally built in the 1960’s, and design Haenicke Hall (Phase 1), a new 108,000-s.f. science research facility.

The Holabird team also designed the University’s New Chemistry Building (Phase 2), which connects to Wood Hall through a second-floor walkway.

The phased design offered the advantages of linking two related science buildings to create a continuous internal connection, straddling a primary pedestrian path to create a major gateway to campus, and adding to the formation of a new quadrangle by enclosing a campus edge.

The design addresses the University’s increased focus on visual learning, energy efficiency, safety in the sciences, collaborative learning, and making the sciences visible to the campus community.