American School & University Magazine

Outstanding Designs - Student Centers/Service Areas

Dordt College Campus Center

Sioux Center, Iowa

Neumann Monson Wictor Architects

Total Area: 104,000 sq. ft.
Total Cost: $12 million
Total Cost/square foot: $115.38
Completion: July 2002

The new Campus Center at Dordt College, a private liberal-arts institution in rural Sioux Center, Iowa, truly provides a place for campus interaction. Steeply pitched roof planes, precast concrete, and red brick blend and contrast with the surrounding campus.

The four-story multiuse building collectively houses the business, assembly and entertainment functions of the college, including recreation rooms with bowling lanes, a snack and a coffee shop, a bookstore, an art gallery, lounges, the campus post office, student services, the Business Department Learning Center and a variety of academic office suites. The building entrance focal point is a three-story rift oak-paneled staircase providing easy access to all levels of the building.

The large trussed, glassed atrium is a light-filled volume of space with flexible furnishings, a portable performance stage, and a multimedia projection and sound system. Overlooks and large framed openings connect the building core areas to outer campus views. Beneath the second-floor art gallery, natural light enters through skylights and the gallery’s glass brick floor.

Converging passageways link a renovated campus library with informal lounge areas created for multiple gathering functions and fireside study. Abundant natural light, materials of rift red oak, soft textures and colorful surfaces create a welcoming place for interactive campus life.