In Fall 2015, Iowa State University was invited to participate in a limited student competition for the design of new outdoor public art to enhance the exterior spaces of the Winterset Public Library in Winterset, IA. The Winterset Public Library initiated this student competition with the support of the Friends of the Winterset Public Library, a non-profit advocacy organization that supports the library’s efforts. The three participating schools were Ball State University (Muncie, IN), Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS), and Iowa State. Students in the Bachelor of Design Program at Iowa State participated in the completion through two required courses: Design 230: Design Thinking (Patience Lueth) and Design Studies 232: Digital Design Communications (Leslie Forehand). Students in these courses traveled to Winterset to see the library site and met with library representatives and community stakeholders, while they refined and completed their final projects and competition boards under the instruction of Patience and Leslie.
The efforts of more than forty students and two members of faculty led to the submission of entries by two teams of ISU students to the competition in May 2016. One of these two entries won the competition and the team was granted the opportunity to execute their design called “Open Book Nooks.” In Spring 2017, Leslie Forehand continued with the project in Architecture 436: Advanced Digital Media. Students worked with the Friends of the Winterset Library and library staff to further develop the competition entry into a buildable project. In Summer 2018, Leslie Forehand’s ARCH 581 graduate architecture students completed a small redesign of the project to value engineer, complete fabrication, and install the project in Winterset, IA. The installed Open Book Nooks, which include seating and shade structures, will be located on the south side of the library, creating a more accessible site condition that connects the library to George Washington Carver Memorial Park. These alterations to the site, which is currently a side alley lined with bushes and trash cans, will create a usable outdoor community space and have a lasting contribution to the Winterset library and surrounding public spaces in the larger Winterset community. The creation of a connection to the park was one of the aspects of the project that the jury noted was one of the best aspects of the students’ design. The spaces created by the Open Book Nooks will act as stepping-stones for community awareness and collaboration in public space and become a hub of activity near the library and the park. This will be the second major public art piece constructed in Winterset and will hopefully act as a catalyst for the continued interest in developing more projects.
Photos by Trevor Toy.
