Approached from an oblique angle, a facade of opaque and transparent glass at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee’s (UWM) new Chemistry Building appears to defy its own physicality. Windows look as if extending past their edges. Reflective elements register sometimes as transparent, other times as solid. Vertical fins lining stacked, undulating surfaces suggest an ephemeral field of continuities. An entire assembly flickers with sky. Then, seen head-on, order comes into focus—horizontal bands marked with pronounced gray joint lines, cut evenly by slender fin profiles less than one-inch thick. A regular system of clear and back-painted glazing modulates slight deviations, keeping edges crisp and the overall volume legible.
