The University of Iowa’s new Visual Arts Building is a 126,000-sf facility that will house the functions of the School of Art & Art history, which were previously held in the university’s 1936 Art Building. The new building provides a space for ceramics, sculpture, metals, photography, printmaking, 3D design, intermedia, animation, and graphic design. There is also space for graduate student studies, faculty and staff studios and offices, and gallery space.
The Visual Arts Building uses a punched concrete frame structure composed of cast-in-place concrete to provide thermal mass at the exterior of the building. Meanwhile, “bubble” slabs that incorporate the Cobiax bubble deck system provide radiant cooling and heating.
BNIM, which worked in collaboration with Steven Holl Architects, designed the irregular shape of the building through the use of computer modeling software. This same software was also used to coordinate the installation of the exposed mechanical pipes and ductwork, which proved to be a complex task.
Significant daylighting, natural ventilation at the atrium skylight, thermal mass storage, a thermal active slab heating and cooling system, and highly efficient HVAC systems are key components of the design.
These design components work toward the ultimate goal of the building, which is to provide as much connection and communication between departments as possible. A key aspect of this is the vertical carving out of large open floor plates. Additionally, several vertical cutouts are designed to increase the interaction between the facility’s four levels. The stairs have also been shaped to increase interaction and discussion among the building’s users. Some of the sculptural open stairs stop at large landings with tables and chairs while others open into lounge spaces with built in seating.
The Visual Arts Building officially opened on Oct. 7.
Related Stories
| Jul 19, 2013
Renovation, adaptive reuse stay strong, providing fertile ground for growth [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Increasingly, owners recognize that existing buildings represent a considerable resource in embodied energy, which can often be leveraged for lower front-end costs and a faster turnaround than new construction.
| Jul 2, 2013
LEED v4 gets green light, will launch this fall
The U.S. Green Building Council membership has voted to adopt LEED v4, the next update to the world’s premier green building rating system.
| Jul 1, 2013
Report: Global construction market to reach $15 trillion by 2025
A new report released today forecasts the volume of construction output will grow by more than 70% to $15 trillion worldwide by 2025.
| Jun 28, 2013
Building owners cite BIM/VDC as 'most exciting trend' in facilities management, says Mortenson report
A recent survey of more than 60 building owners and facility management professionals by Mortenson Construction shows that BIM/VDC is top of mind among owner professionals.
| Jun 17, 2013
DOE launches database on energy performance of 60,000 buildings
The Energy Department today launched a new Buildings Performance Database, the largest free, publicly available database of residential and commercial building energy performance information.
| Jun 11, 2013
Building a better box: High-bay lab aims for net-zero [2013 Building Team Award winner]
Building Team cooperation and expertise help Georgia Tech create a LEED Platinum building for energy science.
| Jun 5, 2013
USGBC: Free LEED certification for projects in new markets
In an effort to accelerate sustainable development around the world, the U.S. Green Building Council is offering free LEED certification to the first projects to certify in the 112 countries where LEED has yet to take root.
| Jun 3, 2013
Construction spending inches upward in April
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during April 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $860.8 billion, 0.4 percent above the revised March estimate of $857.7 billion.
| May 20, 2013
Jones Lang LaSalle: All U.S. real estate sectors to post gains in 2013—even retail
With healthier job growth numbers and construction volumes at near-historic lows, real estate experts at Jones Lang LaSalle see a rosy year for U.S. commercial construction.