Photo © Andy Ryan
Photo © Andy Ryan
Photo © Andy Ryan
Photo © Andy Ryan
Photo © Andy Ryan
Photo © Andy Ryan
Photo © Andy Ryan

School of Art and Art History, University of Iowa

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Location
Iowa City, USA
Year
2006
Program

Art and art history building, including facilities for sculpture, painting, printmaking, graduate studios, administrative offices, gallery, and library

Client
University of Iowa

Size
70,000 sq ft

The new School of Art and Art History is a hybrid instrument of open edges and open center; instead of an object, the building is a “formless” instrument. Implied rather than actual volumes are outlined in the disposition of spaces. Flat or curved planes are slotted together or assembled with hinged sections. Flexible spaces open out from studios in warm weather. The main horizontal passages are meeting places with interior glass walls that reveal work-in-progress. The interplay of light is controlled through shading created by the overlapping planar exterior. Exposed tension rods of the partial bridge section contribute to the linear and planar architecture. Interior floors are framed in exposed steel and concrete planks, with integrated air and services distribution in the core voids. The resulting architecture is a hybrid vision of the future, combining bridge and loft spaces, theory with practice and human requirements with scientific principles.

Other Projects by Steven Holl Architects

New Wing of Mumbai City Museum
Mumbai, India
Horizontal Skyscraper
Shenzhen, China
Ex of IN House
Rhinebeck, USA
Knut Hamsun Center
Hamaroy, Norway
Herning Museum of Contemporary Art
Herning, Denmark