Hancher Auditorium dreams
Sept. 7, 2010 by bgierke

Sometime this month, the University of Iowa will decide which of four finalists will design the new $125-million Hancher Auditorium to replace the one ruined by flood several years ago. It will be the most important performing arts venue for quite a swath of this part of the world and thus will have an elevated prominence.

And, elevated in more ways than one. Its new site will be near the old, but somewhere just a bit uphill toward the Levitt Center – above the levels of the record high water. There had been thought of a move downtown, but access to I-80, parking issues and the riparian sublimity kept it closer to the original.

The context of the site is indeed remarkable. Nearby Art Campus buildings include the Levitt Center designed by Charles Gwathmey, The Advanced Technology Lab by Frank Gehry, and The Art Building West by Steven Holl. There’s an expansive park north of the Levitt Center. The gold dome of the Old Capital can be seen toward the south.

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