By Denise Olson, UW-Eau Claire Integrated Marketing and Communications Department
Two years of work by a pair of 2010 Blugold alumni went on public display at the end of September with the unveiling of an updated model of the UW-Eau Claire campus.
The 6 by 7-foot model, located in the Old Library breezeway, replaced the long-time but badly outdated model of the campus that has been the breezeway’s centerpiece for decades. It was created by Craig Heinen and Colin Hall, close friends from their undergraduate days who have put in more than 2,000 hours of work on the model over the past two years.
Heinen and Hall returned to Eau Claire for the 2014 Viennese Ball and, like so many other returning alumni, took the opportunity to tour the campus. When they walked through the breezeway, they noticed how outdated the campus model had become and decided that night that if enough interest and resources were available, they would create a new model to reflect the new campus additions. .
Their interest eventually reached Kimera Way in the UW-Eau Claire Foundation, who offered Foundation funding for the supplies to support the time and labor the pair were willing to volunteer.
“We are often approached by people who want to give things to the University and/or do something for us. I have to be honest, when we first were approached I was a little skeptical about what Colin and Craig wanted to do, and wondered if they knew what they were biting off,” Way said. “It’s been an absolute joy working with them — they have been organized, diligent and persistent in their follow-up to ensure we all remained on the same page regarding the project.”
Neither Hall nor Heinen had previous experience in creating such a large model, but they were confident that their combined skills and access to technology would provide everything they needed to make their vision become a reality.
Heinen, an accounting graduate now working for Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis, said they originally thought they would “have to build something that could be taken apart and reassembled in place. Once the breezeway was determined to be the home once again, and we were able to pin down exact doorway size, we were able to create one piece.”
“The original model was a large rectangle, and our piece is similar in size but not so symmetrical,” he said. “It has a sort of flow to the shape that reflects the space, including the major roads and the river.”
Once the scope of the overall model was determined, the specific elements became a straightforward, step-by-step process. Hall, who majored in art and works as a designer at St. Thomas University, had experience creating 3D models for museum displays, and his skill transferred well to building an architectural model to scale. The pair used a software called SketchUp to create the designs, all exact replicas of the campus buildings, designed with the help of files and images of all the buildings and facilities.
“Every last window is accounted for, so if a student is visiting and knows where their residence hall room is going to be, that exact room can be found on the model,” Heinen said.
Through the use of 3D printing technology, the hollow models were created from a durable plastic and designed to accommodate lighting attached to a circuit board much like the earlier display. The model’s various components are attached to the base magnetically, which will make updating the layout easy when more changes take place on campus.
“It was important to us to create something dynamic that has the capacity to change with campus, although this slowed the overall process down somewhat,” Heinen said, referring to the installation of the magnet system. “Since this is a school with talented art students right across the bridge, we envision those students as a future resource in keeping this project up-to-date in years to come.”
There may still be more to come from Heinen and Hall, however. They said they have some additional ideas that were pushed to the back burner as the project took shape, but which they might add to the model over time.
“I still dream about having an actual flowing river, though I can’t figure out a way to make it without requiring a lot of maintenance that the university probably wouldn’t want to take on,” Hall said.
Way noted that the efforts put forth by Hall and Heinen “are testament to the fact that there are many ways people can make a difference here. This has been a long process, and their steadfastness is a great tribute to them and the project.”
The two large photos accompanying this story were provided by UW-Eau Claire’s Integrated Marketing and Communications Department.