About

The Space Optimization project is a spatial inventory/assessment to ensure the highest and best use of campus space given current fiscal challenges. Thoughtfully maximizing investment in UWM’s built environment, whose quality is an important driver for recruitment and retention of students and faculty, is critical to the future success of the university.

The project formalizes baseline inventory/assessment data collection processes and tools for existing campus facilities to document the degree to which they are currently serving campus. Synthesis of cyclical data collection will reveal opportunities for efficiency and improvement by identifying buildings or portions of buildings that could be repurposed, renovated, consolidated, or streamlined by use optimization that considers forecasted enrollment, pedological changes, staff/faculty changes, and the increased ability to learn and work remotely.  

Simultaneously, the project identifies opportunities for reinvention, innovation, and collaboration to maximize precious campus spatial resources and relationships. Space efficiency will be balanced with facility needs to support excellence in education, research, student success and morale. The outcomes of this effort will directly support the Think Tank 2030 initiative, critical to the future of the university, by intentionally leveraging UWM’s built environment.

Space Optimization will generate short- and long-term recommendations to recognize and achieve spatial synergies and efficiencies across campus. These recommendations will be achievable with the support and participation of campus and, as needed, approved by the Board of Regents, Legislature and Governor as part of the biennial capital budgeting process.

This work will establish new and ongoing ways of documenting, monitoring and prioritizing campus space needs to maximize access to and quality of our built environment to best support the university.

Included project activities:

• Inventory of campus space 
• Space needs assessment / data collection – campus wide  
• Updated building condition and cost reports 
• Gap analysis between existing space compared to space needs (quantity and quality) 
• Review of UWM strategic plans and potential space implications 
• Review process for determining/making Space Use recommendations 
• Funding recommendations for space use 
• Long term process/data management tools to maintain space data 
• Long term process to update space needs information 
• Updates to campus space procedures, guidelines, policies