Ninety years after the University of Iowa opened its 53,000-square-foot Art Building along the Iowa River in 1936 — hosting renowned artist and educator Grant Wood until his death in 1942 — the campus is eyeing a long-awaited modernization of the vacant building, which has been unoccupied since the 2008 flood.
The proposed $37 million project aims to revitalize the building’s interior and exterior, creating a new home for the UI Graduate College — scheduled to move out of its current Gilmore Hall to make room for the growing Tippie College of Business.
The renovated Art Building also will host the College of Education’s Art Education and Maker Space and the School of Planning and Public Affairs, according to a project proposal going before the Board of Regents next week.
“With the modernization of the building, first and foremost, we will be reverent to its history and how it looks,” UI Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations Rod Lehnertz said in a statement. “It’s been 16 years since the building was occupied, and it looks frozen in time from the summer of 2008. It’s a sad thing to see today, but what is about to emerge from this is a wonderful thing.”
The University of Iowa Art Building, along N. Riverside Drive in Iowa City, opened in 1936 and has been unoccupied since the 2008 flood. A proposed $37 million project aims to revitalize the building’s interior and exterior and create a new home for the UI Graduate College. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
The historic Art Building — built during the Great Depression — broke new ground literally and figuratively in its uniting of art, art history, and studio art spaces. It spanned four floors and included two detached studios connected to the main building.
And a year after its debut in 1936, the university built its new Theater Building in 1937 “to further advance the arts campus.”
Famed UI faculty member Grant Wood — who painted “American Gothic“ — taught classes on mural design.
“As part of his footprint on the UI’s art program, Wood taught students how to create frescoes — permanent paintings the artist creates by putting color directly into plaster — on the walls of Art Building’s lower level," according to the university and Lehnertz.
More than 70 years later, in 2008, historic flooding inundated 22 campus buildings — or one-sixth of the sprawling campus — including not only the Art Building, but other art-centric spaces like Hancher and the Voxman Music Building.
The UI schools of Art and Art History and Music were displaced for more than seven years as crews razed water-damaged portions of their previous homes — including additions on the Art Building constructed in the 1960s to accommodate growth.
With only the original building left standing, the university managed to preserve its historic core — including student-made frescoes on the lower level, which the university plans to preserve in its upcoming renovation.
Before proposing any building upgrade, campus officials engaged in extensive site work to better protect any future version of the Art Building from potential flooding — creating a sidewalk system that can “quickly and easily accept the installation of a ‘Hesco’ flood wall barrier system, like the Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratory across the river.”
Per the proposed renovation — which would save $10 million in deferred maintenance — the mechanical, electrical, IT, and elevator systems in the building would be moved to the second floor, above the 500-year flood elevation.
The university also plans to design furniture and equipment that can be easily moved from the lower level in case of a high-water event.
“The Graduate College is excited to move to the old Art Building, where the modernized space will serve as a central hub for graduate students,” Graduate College Dean Amanda Thein said. “It will offer a welcoming environment for meeting with staff and engaging in professional development, community-building, and networking opportunities.”
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The proposed $37 million project aims to revitalize the building’s interior and exterior, creating a new home for the UI Graduate College — scheduled to move out of its current Gilmore Hall to make room for the growing Tippie College of Business.
The renovated Art Building also will host the College of Education’s Art Education and Maker Space and the School of Planning and Public Affairs, according to a project proposal going before the Board of Regents next week.
“With the modernization of the building, first and foremost, we will be reverent to its history and how it looks,” UI Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations Rod Lehnertz said in a statement. “It’s been 16 years since the building was occupied, and it looks frozen in time from the summer of 2008. It’s a sad thing to see today, but what is about to emerge from this is a wonderful thing.”
Art and art history
The historic Art Building — built during the Great Depression — broke new ground literally and figuratively in its uniting of art, art history, and studio art spaces. It spanned four floors and included two detached studios connected to the main building.
And a year after its debut in 1936, the university built its new Theater Building in 1937 “to further advance the arts campus.”
Famed UI faculty member Grant Wood — who painted “American Gothic“ — taught classes on mural design.
“As part of his footprint on the UI’s art program, Wood taught students how to create frescoes — permanent paintings the artist creates by putting color directly into plaster — on the walls of Art Building’s lower level," according to the university and Lehnertz.
More than 70 years later, in 2008, historic flooding inundated 22 campus buildings — or one-sixth of the sprawling campus — including not only the Art Building, but other art-centric spaces like Hancher and the Voxman Music Building.
The UI schools of Art and Art History and Music were displaced for more than seven years as crews razed water-damaged portions of their previous homes — including additions on the Art Building constructed in the 1960s to accommodate growth.
With only the original building left standing, the university managed to preserve its historic core — including student-made frescoes on the lower level, which the university plans to preserve in its upcoming renovation.
Save $10 million
Before proposing any building upgrade, campus officials engaged in extensive site work to better protect any future version of the Art Building from potential flooding — creating a sidewalk system that can “quickly and easily accept the installation of a ‘Hesco’ flood wall barrier system, like the Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratory across the river.”
Per the proposed renovation — which would save $10 million in deferred maintenance — the mechanical, electrical, IT, and elevator systems in the building would be moved to the second floor, above the 500-year flood elevation.
The university also plans to design furniture and equipment that can be easily moved from the lower level in case of a high-water event.
“The Graduate College is excited to move to the old Art Building, where the modernized space will serve as a central hub for graduate students,” Graduate College Dean Amanda Thein said. “It will offer a welcoming environment for meeting with staff and engaging in professional development, community-building, and networking opportunities.”
University of Iowa eyes $37M Art Building update, 16 years after flood
Ninety years after the University of Iowa opened its 53,000-square-foot Art Building along the Iowa River in 1936 -- hosting renowned artist and educator Grant Wood until his death in 1942 -- the campus is eyeing a long-awaited modernization of the vacant building, which has been unoccupied...
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