The University of Iowa recently completed its new Stanley Museum of Art, a public teaching museum designed by BNIM. The 63,000-square-foot building restores an art museum to the campus after 14 years, following historic flooding in 2008. The Stanley Museum of Art reunites the school with its renowned collections and works, such as Jackson Pollock’s Mural, which had been temporarily held by art institutions around the world.
The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art is a public museum for discovering and teaching art, as well as a center for campus connection. The building features a transparent main lobby and a new entry plaza for art displays, performances, social gatherings, and classes. A series of flexible gallery spaces offers students, faculty, and visitors space for observing, discussing, and exploring the collections. The galleries’ proportions allow for faculty to curate collections for teaching and research and for students to learn about curating, which is central to the museum’s mission.
The museum’s upper floors include a visual arts laboratory classroom where the collections can be used for teaching. Collaborative staff and volunteer spaces also support the research and teaching of the collections.
A dark, kinetic brick facade, with alternating brick texture and brick finish, reflects the changing sunlight. The lobby’s glass facade and a series of interconnected voids throughout the building establish connections to natural light and guide the visitor experience. Outdoor terraces also serve as spaces for socializing and school visits.
On the Building Team:
Owner: The University of Iowa
Design architect: BNIM
Architect of record: BNIM
MEP engineer: Design Engineers
Structural engineer: Meyer Borgman Johnson
General contractor/construction manager: Russell Construction
Related Stories
Building Team Awards | Jun 7, 2017
Rising above adversity: National Museum of African American History and Culture
Gold Award: The Smithsonian Institution’s newest museum is a story of historical and construction resolve.
Architects | Jun 7, 2017
Build your very own version of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum with this new LEGO set
744 LEGO bricks are used to recreate the famous Wright design, including the 1992 addition.
Museums | May 25, 2017
The museum as workspace
Many museum staff are resistant to the idea of open offices.
Architects | May 23, 2017
Queens Museum exhibit shows New York City as it could have been
The installation will showcase 200 years worth of unrealized Big Apple projects via original drawings, renderings, newly commissioned models, and 3D visualizations.
Museums | May 18, 2017
American Writers Museum opens on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue
Amaze Design designed the 10,000-sf space.
Cultural Facilities | May 4, 2017
Obama Foundation reveals first look at the Obama Presidential Center
The design comprises three buildings set in the public space of Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side.
Art Galleries | Apr 21, 2017
The Odunpazari Modern Art Museum pays homage to Ottoman Empire era architecture
The wooden façade is a link to the history of the area as a wood market.
Art Galleries | Apr 14, 2017
Activating exteriors as gallery space
Owners would like to get more value from their exterior spaces. One architecture firm details how it made that happen for the new Whitney Museum.
Museums | Jan 19, 2017
Turning museums inside out: White paper addresses the value of exterior gallery space
Many contemporary museum designs are beginning to utilize the exterior wall space to display art that can help attract new audiences.
Museums | Dec 15, 2016
The design of the Shanghai Planetarium draws inspiration from astronomical principles
Housed within the 400,000-sf building will be the world’s largest planetarium theater.