Inside Iowa State

September 23, 2005

Century of Iowa architecture on display

by Teddi Barron

Considering the many connections between Iowa State and Iowa's finest architecture, the campus arrival of the traveling exhibit, "A Century of Iowa Architecture, 1900-1999," will be something of a homecoming.

The College of Design will host the Oct. 3-28 exhibit, which will feature photographs of the 50 buildings considered the best of Iowa's 20th-century architecture. They were selected last year by a jury in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the Iowa chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

The exhibit's ties to Iowa State are numerous:

• Stephens Auditorium was selected the best of the best as the "Building of the Century." Former architecture faculty member Ray Crites and professor emeritus of architecture Howard Heemstra were involved in its design.
• Mark Engelbrecht, College of Design dean, designed the University of Northern Iowa's Maucker Union Building, considered one of the best buildings of the 1960s.
• Architecture professor and chair Cal Lewis was a designer on the Meredith Corp. headquarters expansion, a top pick for the 1990s.
• Agronomy Hall's expansion and remodeling was one of the best of the 1980s.
• Faculty or alumni were architects on 11 of the exhibit's 20 buildings built since 1960, including the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines.

The exhibit itself was largely curated by two faculty members. Jason Alread, assistant professor of architecture, chaired the Iowa AIA committee that oversaw the three-year project. He also wrote the text for the exhibit's companion book. Cameron Campbell, assistant professor of architecture and art and design, was the architectural photographer and exhibit designer/fabricator. After a year of preparation, he spent most of a summer traveling the state, photographing the selected buildings.

One final connection: Students in assistant architecture professor Dan Naegele's Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School seminar built physical models of Prairie School buildings included in the exhibit.

The exhibit will be in Gallery 181, first floor of the College of Design building. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, in the gallery.

The American Republic Insurance Building in Des Moines, completed in 1965, is one of the buildings featured in a traveling exhibit, "A Century of Iowa Architecture, 1900-1999." The exhibit, largely curated by ISU Design faculty Jason Alread and Cameron Campbell, will be in Gallery 181, Design Center, Oct. 3-28. Photo by Cameron Campbell.