Iowa Architectural Foundation announces design award recipients
The Iowa Architectural Foundation recently honored Drake University and the Shelter House in Iowa City with awards that recognize contributions from outside the architectural profession. Meredith Hall at Drake, shown above, was cited as an example of modernist architecture. The Shelter House, shown below, was cited for the way it used architecture to transform lives and communities. Images special to the Business Record
The Iowa Architectural Foundation has honored two recipients with its 2022 Community Enhancement Through Architecture and Design Awards: Shelter House in Iowa City and Drake University in Des Moines.
The awards recognize individuals, organizations or communities outside the architectural profession that have demonstrated consistent and effective leadership, vision and support for architecture or that have repeatedly championed the cause of architecture.
Shelter House, a nonprofit group that provides housing and supportive services to people who are homeless, has “incorporated high standards of design into its mission and model for combating homelessness, consistently demonstrating how thoughtful design can support day-to-day social services as well as the dignity and health of their tenants,” according to a release.Shelter House has opened two buildings – Cross Park Place, which opened in 2019 with 24 furnished apartments, and 501 Project, which opened in 2022 with 36 units.
The jury that reviewed recommendations for the award said Shelter House offers residents “not just a house but a home.”
Drake University was where “a new age of modern architecture began,” according to architect Philip Johnson, referring to the campus designs of Eliel Saarinen and his son Eero. The father-son duo’s modernism is found in nine buildings at Drake, including four dormitories, Hubbell Dining Hall and Scott Memorial Chapel. By the 1960s, “Drake’s approach was distinct because the university renewed its commitment to modernist architecture begun two decades earlier,” wrote Maura Lyons, a professor of art history at Drake. The result was Meredith Hall, designed by renowned architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Drake’s commitment to well-designed architecture continues today, according to a news release. Construction is underway at Meredith Hall to update and expand the building so that it will serve future generations. The Tom and Ruth Harkin Center, which opened in 2020, “sets a new standard for universal and inclusive design,” according to the release.
One jurist said Drake has “one of the preeminent collections of Mid-Century Modern Architecture in the nation.”
The award selection process included a statewide call for entries and selection by a three-person jury. Awards were presented during a recent celebration.
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