Art Building West (ABW) was designed by New York architect Steven Holl. The building opened in 2006 only to be flooded in 2008. ABW will reopen for classes in January of 2012.

This extraordinary facility has received numerous awards including:

• 2007 RIBA International Award
• 2007 AIA Institute Honor Award
• 2008 American Architecture Award
• 2010 SCUP Merit Award for Excellence in Architecture in a New Building
• 2011 Exceptional Project Award by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Center for Effective Learning Environments, Paris - watch the video

Watch a video with students talking about their experience in Art Building West. Take a closer look at ABW.

While reconstruction of the UI arts campus is under way, the School of Art and Art History is conducting business as usual in temporary facilities. Studio Arts, a large building in Iowa City, was refurbished extensively with huge studios and new equipment. Floor plan .pdf Classroom space, studio areas, and faculty offices are housed there and at a few other locations on campus. Studio Arts offers abundant free parking, and the University’s free Cambus makes frequent stops all over campus seven days a week.

Steven Holl Architects in collaboration with BNIM Architects, has won the commission for the new art studio facility for the University of Iowa (UI) Arts campus. The new building will replace the original arts building built in 1936, which was heavily damaged during a flood of the University of Iowa campus in June 2008. The site is directly adjacent to and northwest of the Art Building West, designed by Steven Holl Architects.