Studio 483 was approached by a major local developer to design a facility with a unique program. The University of Iowa’s local MBA program had grown beyond its current space and needed to expand. The program is populated primarily by working adults, so their hours of operation were all evening hours. Their need was great, but their resources were limited.
Studio 483 was tasked with designing a facility that could function with dual occupancy: facilitating the university program in the evening and providing space for an active conferencing and meeting center during the day. Added to the mix was a requirement to include 10,000 square feet for Regus, a multinational organization providing shared/virtual office space.
The facility is located in the Birchwood Fields Corporate Park in Davenport, Iowa, along the active 53rd Street corridor—perhaps the premiere office location in the region. The structure is a two-story steel frame building clad in brick and fiber cement rainscreen panels, consistent with the established vocabulary of the park and neighboring buildings. The building is approximately 10,000 square feet per floor.
Upon entering the building, visitors are greeted by a daylight-infused lounge and gathering space, complete with vending service and restrooms. The ground floor includes two 40-person “classrooms” that can be combined to provide space for various meetings and functions. Additionally, there is one 60-person lecture space with tiered floors and flexible seating. Across the corridor are numerous breakout rooms and offices. All spaces have full audio/visual capabilities. The upper level was fit out by Regus to their requirements.
