The Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex is instrumental in fulfilling the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's mission to “be a top-tier research university that is the best place to learn and work for students, faculty and staff.” It addresses the most urgent academic and research needs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, in addition to creating a new home for the department of physics.
The first new academic building to be added to the university's main campus in more than a decade, it will also be the largest structure at UWM and includes offices, instructional areas, collaborative spaces, multidisciplinary research labs, greenhouses, and shared core facilities. A portion of the building will feature facilities for the Zilber School of Public Health that can be shared by other departments. Its indoor pathway is woven into a major pedestrian throughway, seamlessly connecting the building to future phases of the quad and the rest of the campus.