Dear Doug (and others contemplating new construction),
        Congrats on your new venture!! In 1987 the State of Iowa opened the New
Historical Building housing the Dept of Cultural Affairs, the State
Historical Society, and the Iowa Arts Council.  Spaces in this building
include administration, museum, library, and archives as well as the
behind-the-scenes areas necessary to support the public spaces and
organizational mission.  I want to say it's a great building because it's
light-years from what we had but at the same time it falls short in so many
areas, especially on the non-public side.  So what have we learned in ten
years?  That hindsight is 20/20 and most of the frustrating aspects of our
new building could have been eliminated up front.

Here are a few thoughts on New Buildings:
1.      Form does follow function. While considered aesthetically pleasing our
building has the charm of a bus station.  Oak flooring on the first floor
topped by a glass ceiling 70 feet up creates a cavern of noise on school
tour days.  Museum exhibits and the auditorium are hidded behind imposing
walls of glass and granite.  Entrances to these spaces are small and dark.
While the artifacts in your collection may need large exhibit spaces, keep
in mind the scale of your visitors - upon entering a museum most are
dismayed to find large expanses of nothing.

2.      Use the right materials for your location.  Outdoor terrace tiles
tested and rated in Southern California did not hold up to Iowa winters.
The glass ceiling attached to steel beams with a rubber gasket leaks in the
freeze/thaw/ swelter cycles of Iowa weather.  Some building materials just
won't work in your climate.

3.      Pay attention to the details.  The 'frills' you cut from the budget will
be the things that rankle most - carpet in offices, a staff lunchroom,
sealer and paint for concrete surfaces.  Real people work in new buildings.
 Think about and design office/work spaces for human comfort and
professional needs.  Don't place offices willy-nilly around the building
because you have odd bits of space here and there.  Plan 'service" spaces
(loading docks, corridors, doorways) to accomodate artifacts and equipment.

4.      An Ounce of Prevention...... Make sure pipes and other mechanical
conduits don't run through storage or exhibit areas.  Don't place the HVAC
systems directly above storage areas - cooling towers leak. Landscape so
water doesn't run directly in the front door.  Plan parking and other
outdoor spaces so staff and visitors can safely cross streets.

These are my thoughts.  For a great discussion of new museum construction,
see the article by John D. Hilberry, "What Architects Need to Know and
Don't Want to Hear", Museum News, June 1983. Perhaps there is something
more recent but I find his points to be relevant.

Jodi Evans
Registrar
State Historical Society of Iowa