It’s kind of amazing how quickly the new Milwaukee Public Museum location on the northeast corner of 6th and McKinley near the Deer District is rising. It feels like it’s gone from vacant lot to four stories of steel in the blink of an eye.
While Mortenson and other contractors have been doing that work out in the elements Downtown, other facets of the museum project – due to open in early 2027 – have been taking shape in Germantown, including artist Mark Fischer’s creation of a unique installation for the museum’s green space.
A few miles down the road, Stonecast Products has been fabricating the 670 pre-cast concrete panels that will clad the exterior of the striking new building, designed by Ennead Architects with Milwaukee’s Kahler Slater.
About 100 of the pieces have already been cast and are in various stages of finishing, while others are being made as we speak. In fact, just this morning I witnessed concrete being poured into formwork for three more panels.
Element30, based in Slinger, did the engineering work on the panels and created the drawings and models – in collaboration with the architects – that Stonecast is using to create the finished product after doing more modeling of its own.
“We were incredibly excited when we first saw the renderings of the Future Museum and knew we wanted to be part of bringing this vision to life,” says Stonecast Products Business Development Manager Mike Wilhelm. “After an extensive research and development phase, we presented a plan that maintained the integrity of the original design while ensuring a seamless production process.
“Working on this project is meaningful to us because many of our team members have fond memories of visiting the museum as kids, and now we have the chance to contribute to a landmark that future generations will enjoy.”
According to Wilhelm, the materials being used to create the panels – aggregate and sand – come from Richfield and Kiel, and from Minnesota.
The formwork for the panels – many of which are unique – is made of foam cut by a CNC machine and then covered in a shiny plastic layer that looks and feels almost like enamel.
They are laid out on a huge table along with elements like reinforcing rebar and the hardware required to attach the panels to the museum structure and then giant hoppers of cottage cheese-like concrete are poured in and smoothed by workers.
The table then vibrates to remove air bubbles from the concrete.
Once cured, the panels are taken outside and sandblasted to give them texture, Stonecast’s Chris Zajac says, and to reveal elements of the aggregate used in the concrete.
“When they’re cast, they are smooth as glass,” Zajac explains.
Outside the plant we saw panels being sandblasted and others that already underwent the process, which began with a variety of levels of sandblasting as examples. Team members from the design group and the museum then selected the preferred level to create the look of stone outcroppings.
One worker I spoke with was picking out bits of aggregate that must have some iron in them because they were causing rust marks when being exposed to moisture.
He was chipping out those bits and filling the gaps to ensure the Future Museum won’t have rust stains over time.
The panels vary in size but are all big, and some are huge.
Some reach nearly 40 feet long and 35 feet tall and weigh as much as 56,000 pounds.
While some side panels are pretty flat and rectangular, most of the panels on the facades are grooved in unique ways – inspired by central Wisconsin’s Mill Bluff State Park’s rock formations.
Seeing these striations up close makes for a fun textured visual experience and it’s exciting to think about how they’ll look once installed in their final locations.
According to the museum, the panels are expected to be installed beginning this summer.
“The Future Museum’s architectural design is meant to tell a story about Wisconsin before visitors even step inside,” said MPM Chief Planning Officer Katie Sanders. “Our vision for the museum exterior is inspired by Mill Bluff State Park’s unique geological formation.
“To mimic that shape and texture and pay homage to our Wisconsin landscape, we have partnered with the concrete experts in our own backyard. Stonecast is known for their meticulous craftsmanship and expertise. We are thrilled to have their support as we integrate the state’s natural history into the Future Museum’s architecture.”
About 80-85 Stonecast employees have been involved in designing and pouring the museum panels. According to the museum, Stonecast is one of more than 70 Wisconsin-based companies involved in building the Future Museum.
According to Sanders, the Future Museum remains on track to open in early 2027.
For more coverage of the Milwaukee Public Museum, click here.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
