The Milwaukee Innovation Center
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Design School and Business Incubator
The Milwaukee Innovation Center, or MIC, is a hypothetical project located in Milwaukee's South Side, in an abandoned heavy industry site called Solvay Coke and Gas. In preparation for my thesis project, with the same name, I was required to produce a document incorporating research into the history of the site, the larger context, the history of Milwaukee, geography, transportation, infrastructure, zoning, precedent projects and a few design iterations. All of this analysis and information will inform the design process, comprising the spring 2010 semester. The documentation and design will be crafted into a presentation, a thesis defense, taking place in May of 2010. Following the presentation I will earn my Masters of Architecture degree.
Introduction: A Return of Innovation
Milwaukee, known as the ‘Machine Shop of the World,’ had a reputation as a leader in design and production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Harley-Davidson began in a 10 foot by 15 foot shack in a back yard, the Falk Corporation was founded in the machine shop of the extensive Schlitz Brewery, and Allen Bradley came from modest beginnings tinkering with electrical components. These, and other companies, turned Milwaukee into a model for the industrial world. However, Milwaukee has not adjusted well post-industrial present. By most metrics, Milwaukee is struggling. Auto manufacturing jobs have left for foreign countries. Steel and metal fabrication has declined. With the exception of Miller, breweries have consolidated or shut down. The goal for my thesis is to create a place that recaptures and fosters Milwaukee’s innovative spirit. The Milwaukee Innovation Center is a business incubator and school where design and production, education and business, and institution and community can connect to begin to restore Milwaukee as a design leader.
Reinventing Milwaukee
Establishing a place where creative people can gather and learn, or start a business, will be of great value to Milwaukee’s economy. Producing highly innovative design and production within the city will foster the creation of many related business, encourage job growth, and reverse the exodus of jobs to business parks in the suburbs or overseas. Milwaukee has the potential to be the leader in innovative industrial design and production. The best way to bring international acclaim and investment to Milwaukee’s renewed innovative spirit in the 21st century is to build a signature facility to draw international attention. The exemplar project ideally will be located in a formerly prosperous, but presently distressed, part of the city combining design and production under one roof to serve as a combined school and business incubator; an icon and a catalyst for future growth.
Site: Solvay Coke and Gas Company
The southbound lane of the Hoan Bridge offers the perfect aerial view of one of Milwaukee’s largest industrial areas, and it is not an especially pleasing view. This “industrial wasteland,” is filled with many crumbling structures, tanks, and piles. In the middle, along the west bank of the Kinnickinnic River on a 46-acre triangular site is the Solvay Coke and Gas Company. Once a booming business spread across the site, it closed suddenly 30 years ago and has not reopened. Only a handful of smaller buildings remain, leaving a vast area ripe for development. The site’s location next to industrial areas, historic factories, and adjacent transportation systems make it an ideal selection as the site for the Milwaukee Innovation Center.
