Badger Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired, Wauwatosa
 Badger Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired Wauwatosa, WI 2004 WCMA Finalist Award Winner |
Cost: $4,588,000
Size: 69,000 sq. ft.
Completion Date: Summer 2003
Architect: AG Architecture, Wauwatosa, WI
Mason Contractor: Edgar Prager & Sons, Inc.
CMU Producer: County Materials Corp.
Scope of Project:
The Badger Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired building is located on the west side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The 69,000 square foot building is a 4-story apartment and independent living facility for the blind and visually impaired. Badger Residence is a 58 Unit residence designed with the blind and visually impaired community in mind. The project requirements were for 30 one- bedroom and 28 two-bedroom units complete with fully accessible kitchens and bathrooms, along with 15 enclosed parking spaces and additional resident storage under the structure.
The structure is located on a steep incline and attached to the existing Badger Residence Hall, a dormitory style building. This placement creates a south-facing courtyard maximizing southern exposure, a desired condition for blind residents. Laundry facilities are provided for on all floors, and all public corridors provide color contrasting finishes and handrails to assist in "way finding."
CMUs provide security and design flexibility
The design criteria dictated that the building provide a sense of security and permanency to both the residents and to the surrounding neighborhood. The challenging site, a prominent location atop the southern bluff of the Menomonee River along a busy roadway, placed a premium on the designers' ability to creatively blend the large structure into the older, developed neighborhood. The use of several different colors, textures and sizes of CMU helped the designer successfully recreate a Mediterranean style building more commonly found on Milwaukee's East Side.
A total of 10,000 auburn colored split face CMUs, 25,000 bisque color concrete brick with a split face texture, 1650 ivory colored Federal Series Trim Stones and matching color Allan Block retaining walls were selected and successfully met all aspects of the design criteria.