Project Team
Project Objective
Overall, the objective of this website is to impartially evaluate the Alpha Iota lakefront condition, and if necessary, provide potential revitalization recommendations. To complete this objective, our team has established several analyses to help ensure our results remain quantitative and unbiased.
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The first analysis is an erosion analysis, which is to determine exactly how the coastal area is changing with regards to time and space. This analysis can be further classified into both a regional and local
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A special thanks to Chin Wu and Fred Klancnik for their expertise and input on this project.
Background
Alpha Iota (‘The Lodge’) of Chi Psi was constructed over a century ago in 1912 [1]. In 1988, Alpha Iota was entered into the National Register of Historic Places. This historic structure stands on the Southeast shoreline of Lake Mendota at 150 Iota Court in Madison, Wisconsin. Even today, Alpha Iota serves its initial purpose of housing the brothers of Chi Psi at the University of Wisconsin - Madison (UW-Madison).
Recently, brothers and alumni of Chi Psi at UW-Madison have expressed concern about the safety of their beloved home, The Lodge. Specifically, there is concern regarding the condition of its lakefront, but not all members and alumni share the same level of apprehension. Therefore, affiliates of this local chapter have reached out to UW-Madison to help objectively evaluate the condition of Alpha Iota's lakefront.
erosion analysis. The second analysis is a slope stability analysis, which aims to determine if the slope of the lakefront at Alpha Iota is in danger of failure.
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The results from these two analyses will reveal whether the Alpha Iota lakefront requires any level of restoration. If the results imply that immediate or forthcoming site restoration is necessary, then several potential revitalization strategies will be recommended.
