IOWA ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY LABORATORIES BUILDING
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

Photo: Tim Griffith/Esto

Occupying a site along the Iowa River and directly across from the Student Union building, this prominent addition to the University of Iowa campus is made up of five different programmatic elements, each designed to have a distinct visual identity.

The research laboratories represent the largest element and are housed in an intentionally straightforward limestone block comprising three stories and a penthouse. Adjacent to this building is a long, low single story facility, clad completely in copper and containing support laboratories and major mechanical spaces for the research building. The necessity for strict light, temperature and humidity controls within these two structures resulted in sheet facades without window openings and suggestive of the sculptural solution ultimately employed in resolving their relationship to the site and to each other. In contrast, the scientists' offices fan out against the backdrop of the laboratories. The crystalline forms are surfaced in stainless steel and create interest along the water's edge with their multiplicity of angles. Skylights control and reflect light, creating luminous interiors which enhance the office environment. Opposite the entrance stands the fifth element in the composition of forms, a free-standing structure that functions as a conference room. This curving form is distinguished by its 30-foot high interior space and the large windows overlooking the patio toward the river.