Respecting
the river
Improvements help mitigate floods without
tarnishing University of Iowa campus setting
By Pam Braun
We didn’t want to put up huge
barriers to keep the river away
from us. We want people to be
engaged with the river, and we
want the river to be engaged with
us. We also pride ourselves on
the architecture of our campus.
As we looked at ways to protect
these buildings, we didn’t want to
detract from them.
– Chet Wieland, University of
Iowa Design Project
Management Team Leader
2│TRENDS
T
he scenic 1,900-acre University of Iowa campus straddles the
Iowa River in Iowa City. Though the river significantly adds to
campus beauty, it also created headaches during two major floods.
Flooding in 1993 pushed up to 12 inches of water onto the
campus, damaging six buildings that cost $6 million to repair. Fifteen
years later, another flood made the previous one seem like a mere
puddle. The peak of the second flood hit on Friday, June 13, 2008,
and damaged 44 buildings, including some deemed total losses.
“It was Friday the 13th; that’s how I can remember the date,”
said Chet Wieland, the university’s design project management team
leader.
Significant losses included the university’s power plant; the
entire arts district, including a regional performing arts venue and the
school of music, a smaller performance venue with a built-in organ;
the Iowa Advanced Technology Lab, a top laser research facility
housing $15 million to $20 million in equipment; the Iowa Memorial