The highly-anticipated Milwaukee Public Market provides an exciting new venue where local farmers and specialty food vendors can sell their wares. It also offers a dynamic new community gathering place and visitor destination.

For the design of the building, we took traditional ideas and expressed them in contemporary form. The use of steel, glass and brick honors the history of the Third Ward and other public markets throughout the country.

It seemed only natural that a building dedicated to selling fresh food be designed with a sensitivity to the environment. The market relies on cool daylighting to reduce artificial lighting and lower HVAC costs. Other sun control features include high-performance glass and sun louvers. Natural ventilation reduces HVAC loads.

The space around the building is just as important as the space inside the market. By maximizing opportunities for street life, the idea of an outdoor market could be stretched as a threshold between the downtown and the Third Ward. A large illuminated sign above the west entrance of the building has already become a prominent local landmark.