Visual Arts Building Iowa
Iowa City, USA
- ACI Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards, Low-Rise Buildings (2018)
- Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Prize (2017)
- AIANY Design Awards: Honor Award (2017)
- The Weidt Group, Commercial New Construction, Excellence in Energy Efficient Design (2017)
- Metal Construction Association, Chairman’s Award for overall excellence (2017)
- Sara NY, Design Awards: Design Award of Excellence (2017)
- ENR, Midwest Regional Best Higher Education / Research Project (2017)
- Interior Design Best Of The Year Award – Education (2016)
- Architects Newspaper, Building of the Year, Midwest (2016)


The new fine arts building at the University of Iowa replaces an original art building from 1936 that was severely damaged in a flood in 2008. The multi-award-winning new building is located directly adjacent to the Art Building West, which was completed in 2006. Both buildings were designed by New York star architect Steven Holl. The 12,600 m² new building consists of a cuboid interrupted by six rounded incisions. In the centre is an atrium that connects the four floors of the building.
The façade is clad with low-iron LAMBERTS LINIT® EcoGlass profiles, which are fitted with translucent thermal insulation. It provides privacy while allowing daylight to enter the interior of the building. The building houses studios for students and lecturers, loft-like rooms for ceramics, sculptures and multimedia applications, as well as offices and rooms for staff. Translucent thermal insulation was installed in the glass cavities to achieve better thermal insulation.











