Site Response |

Within the contemporary Iowan landscape, little remains of the undulating prairie lands which existed for thousands of years before its settling,and the evolution of an industrialized farming process. The profoundly open & native network of prairie habitat has been manipulated by a foreign grid of infrastructure, right angles, and a disregard for the preservation of natural beauty inherent to our nation’s heartland. With initial goals to design not only a piece of architecture, but also an experience which facilitated healing, it became apparent that the repetition and established spatial fabric of the Jeffersonian grid would not offer maximum opportunities of individual & group reflection, collaboration, and ultimately healing.

Solution |

The strategy developed to heal this specific group of users, was to create an environment which contrasts from the stressful, rigid environment of the urban. The most effective way to accomplish this ‘transposition’ would be to return the site to its natural form. The building is built into the landscape, and interior space is kept to a minimum. The intent is to create a building that integrates into the landscape, in a harmonious reconciliation between user & environment.