Building an Image

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Building an Image

Early 2008, the Iowa River began to flood. As it rose, it began to creep closer and closer to the University of Iowa’s art campus, specifically the Voxman Music Building and the Theatre Arts Building. Midway through attempts to clear the Voxman Music Building of precious materials such as instruments and original music scores, the building flooded, destroying lots of expensive equipment that was too heavy to move and more importantly, doing irreversible damage to the building itself. After the flood subsided, the building was declared unusable. This was a blow to the University of Iowa School of Music, which was largely displaced, but also an enormous opportunity. The after a year, the next location for the University of Iowa School of Music to call home was announced, along with confirmation that the building had funding. These announcements were met with excitement and enthusiasm from the Iowa City community, and four years later, in 2013, the demolition and excavation for the new building started. Three years later, the building is almost finished. What exactly is Iowa City about to get?

This new Music Building will be the home for the University of Iowa’s School of Music for the rest of the foreseeable future. It was constructed by people, designed by people, and funded by people, all of whom had goals in mind. Whether their goal was to break even financially, or to make a good home for the University of Iowa School of Music, a lot of their success depends on how the construction of this building is seen by the Iowa City community. Based on the website for the new Voxman Music Building, it is the goal of the University of Iowa School of Music to remain or even become more relevant of a presence in Iowa City by creating a building that is seen as modern, connected to the community and tradition, and something both the Iowa city population and University of Iowa student population will be able to use and enjoy.

The first thing one might notice when they look at the building construction site for the University of Iowa is a rendering of the state-of-the-art, 21st Century building that will be downtown by this summer. The renderings show the new building well-lit at twilight, glowing impressively. I think that the choice to make this building new-age in its design was very deliberate. Many college campuses choose to make the exterior of their new buildings match the often classical style of the older buildings, but upon looking at the renderings of this new building, anyone might compare it to an Apple or Windows store in a mall before comparing it to a school. The dominantly glass exterior, bare walls, and spartan recital halls are noticeably different than the typical old style of a wooden stage with curtains. The choice to go with a modern style was to keep up with expectations of the Iowa City community. When someone hears “they’re putting in a new building downtown,” they hardly expect a building that blends in with its surroundings. Another thing worth noting is that the first impression people get from a sleek, new building is that it looks like it cost lots of money, while in reality, a lavish old-style building is usually much more expensive to build.

Another important part of what the University of Iowa School of Music is trying to convey in its public image is its strong connection to the community, both the to University and city, through keeping the Voxman name attached to the School of Music and the advertisement of construction progress. The flood in 2008 didn’t just effect the University Campus- roads and bridges all around Iowa City were unusable, and plenty of buildings sustained water damage. Considering how much the website talks about the flood, and the detail that it describes the flood and devastation it caused, It’s safe to say that this building is about recovering, rebounding if you will, from the flood, which is something that the Iowa City community can relate to. This new building will also be named after Himie Voxman, which is another very deliberate move. By keeping the same name, there is more of a “we made it through the flood” message, making it almost seem as though the building was never torn down, just moved away from the riverside. This move also makes the building more comfortable for the staff and legacy of the University of Iowa, as keeping important dignitary remembered is important throughout all educational institutions. The live cam on the website as well as posters and signs for the new building are both connections to the community. By making daily photographic progress of the building available to anyone who visits the website (probably students, prospective students and Iowa City Residents), they are able to make the viewer feel more connected and involved in the construction of the new building. This, paired with the visual advertisements seen downtown and around the library, create excitement as the building becomes closer and closer to being finished.

The last statement that the University of Iowa School of Music is making with this new building is that the new building is going to be an exciting addition to Iowa City’s downtown. Its location downtown puts it in a high traffic zone for people, who will see it, be impressed, and wonder what’s going on inside. The renderings of the 700 seat concert hall, 200 seat recital hall, as well as an opera chamber not only excite music students who will want to perform in the new facility, but may also interest students and Iowa City Citizens who want to see some of the interior of the new building. To add to the credibility of the new building and to convince the viewer that the new building will be worth checking out, the website cites the Architects of the new building as LMN from Seattle, to quote the article “whose work includes award-winning campus planning, convention centers, libraries, and performing arts centers.”. The University of Iowa included this to show us that they got some talented people to design this building, even though there is no guarantee that this building will be counted among the award-winning buildings that this architecture firm has produced.

The University of Iowa School of Music is doing a good job promoting their new building. They are effectively promoting their new and well deserved building, and creating an exciting public image that will bring people into the new building, student or otherwise. Promoting the building as a modern homage to the old building that will bring in curious people is an optimistic and well thought out choice.

Category : Rhetorical Analysis, Uncategorized