The historic US Bank Plaza located on Capitol Square in Madison was designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, a world-renowned architect firm and structural engineer, Fazlur Kahn in 1974. Since Urban Land Interests (ULI) purchased the building in 2008, they have been committed to preserving the historic nature of the building while incorporating sustainable building updates and amenities for their tenants. In 2019, ULI chose SmithGroup as their design partner and Vogel Bros. Building Co. as their construction partner to renovate the existing 20,000-square-foot roof deck located on the fourth floor of the US Bank Plaza. The goal was to turn the underutilized roof space into a tenant amenity to be used as an extension of all tenant work spaces and community organizations. The design creates a flexible elevated public gathering space that can be separated into intimate spaces and used to host large events that showcases the vitality of downtown Madison. From elevator to lobby, its linear, staggered lighting has a force to naturally draw visitors out to the rooftop. When viewed from above, the rooftop is a composition of functions that looks like a framed piece of art with its clean lines and lush greenery. These lines throughout the roof break up the large space and reinforce sight lines towards the view of the capitol building. This was significant as the team strategically provided taller planters of substantial depth to host larger and more impactful plant varieties while not modifying the structural grid.
