Architecture @ Hand Walking Tours
Guided by design professionals, these tours of downtown Des Moines provide an opportunity for local residents and visitors to appreciate the rich architectural heritage of Iowa's capitol city. The 2012 season will once again begin in the spring.
New for 2011 was a bike tour! The Iowa Architectural Foundation celebrated National Bike Month by offering an architectural tour of Des Moines. More information for the 2012 bike tour coming soon.
Architecture by Children (ABC) Drawing Contest
Our fourth annual Architecture by Children drawing contest is underway! This year's theme is 'Historic Iowa Architecture.' This drawing contest is for all Iowa students grades kindergarten through sixth grade. Entries must be received by April 13, 2012. For more information, please click here.
Architecture of Downtown Des Moines Course
A course has been developed in collaboration with Des Moines Community Education to educate the public about the architectural influences on the downtown skyline. The course is composed of 3 sessions -- an introductory lecture, a skywalk-based walking tour, and exploration of a choice of architectural photography, architectural sketching, or research.
Architecture Month Lecture Series
Conducted every April to celebrate Iowa Architecture Month, the Lecture Series educates the public on various design-related topics. The topic for 2012 will be on the City Beautiful Movement. Lectures will be at 7:00 PM on Thursdays during architecture month (April). More information to come soon!
Past topics:
2011 -- Sacred Spaces
2010 -- Green 101: What is Green Architecture?
2009 -- 100 Years of Iowa Architecture
ArKIDtec-Sure!
A teacher-delivered presentation that introduces 4th - 6th grade students to the concepts of space, light, and color as well as different architectural styles used throughout history. A condensed version of this program is presented each year in collaboration with the State Historical Museum.
In addition to the main presentation, the following supplemental modules are available:
Architecture in the Lifetime of George Washington Carver with Victorian House activity
Telling the Story of Iowa through Architecture with Pioneer Living activity
Community Design Excellence Awards
This program recognizes those individuals or organizations that support architecture and design in their communities.
Community Design Program
Since 2001, this program has assisted mostly rural communities with design issues involving downtown revitalization, streetscapes, and gateway entrances using a transparent decision-making process to arrive at a community vision.
Snapshot Iowa
Launched in 2011, our newest youth education program encourages 7th - 12th grade students across Iowa to explore architecture in their community by submitting photographs featuring local architecture or architectural elements. To download a poster with complete rules, please click here. This year's theme is historic architecture.
Entries for this year's contest must be recieved by March 14, 2012.
Check out the winning entries and honorable mentions from 2011 here.
