The University of Iowa

Bridge for Iowa

Armajani Biology Building bridge
Artist
Building
Medium
steel and glass
Status
Active
Date
2000
Description
Siah Armajani has developed an international reputation as a sculptor working in monumental, architectural forms. His previous works include the torch, tower and bridge at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and the Irene Whitney Hixon Bridge, of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

The bridge spanning the two Biology Buildings on either side of Dubuque Street incorporates Armajani's use of every-day materials found in any home improvement store. The corrugated metal facade of the Bridge for Iowa skywalk evokes the style of an Iowa covered bridge or grain silo. The interior, however, features highly stylized DNA helixes and quotes by Charles Darwin and Walt Whitman. The bridge has a highly functional feature, as it eases transportation between biology buildings, which is of extreme importance when transporting plants from the Biology East's green house during the frigid Iowa winters.