Also known as: University of Iowa School of Art & Art History Building Built: 1999-2006 Designed by: Steven Holl Architects Type: Educational Facility Location: North Riverside Drive, Iowa City, United States
A nother piece of great architecture that proves that small cities are often the homes of works that should make the designers of the world's towering skyscrapers envious.
The University of Iowa's School of Art and Art History building forms a man-made link between two natural features: a limestone bluff and a small pond. In the unification process, the building actually extends over the pond in the way that became fashionable in the mid-2000's. A similar technique is seen in the Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas. This building, however, does not look like a double-wide trailer hanging over the Arkansas River. The University of Iowa construction successfully embraces its surroundings, rather than imposing on them. The steel plates that make up this building's skin have a natural color that mimics the local earth, and over time should change color even more.
Even more so than color, the building is about space. Both the spaces you see with your eyes, and the spaces created by your mind. The angles and shapes of the building's sections are clearly visible to the viewer's rational mind. But the subconscious also gets a workout here. There are many more sections of this building that are implied by the main structure, but exist only as notions in the mind. The same subliminal architecture is at work inside the building to guide people to implied gathering places.
Concrete planks on the roof are designed to diffuse natural light through skylights and into the creative spaces below.
"Walking into the new building is like walking around inside a work of art – it is truly an aesthetic experience. It is amazing how space can transform how you think and feel about your work."
Dorothy Johnson Director of the School of Art and Art History
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