Displays are going up in libraries in nearly three-dozen Iowa communities this month to bring awareness to the profession of architects. Naura Godar, an architect in West Des Moines, says this is Architecture Month and the goal is to expose the public to the award-winning architecture that abounds in Iowa.
“We’re trying to address several options,” Godar says. “The idea that architects can create sustainable buildings and that hiring an architect is a good decision because we can help clients save money through good design solutions.” Godar helped to assemble the displays that are now in 33 libraries statewide.
Godar says, “We have pictures of award-winning Iowa architecture on pieces of cardboard and so the intent is, children or young adults or whoever feels like building with their hands, can assemble these pictures in different configurations — a tall tower, a wide bridge — so not only are they seeing the architecture, but they’re kind of experiencing the idea of building something with their hands.”
The Iowa chapter of the American Institute of Architects is also putting colorful four-page booklets in eight of Iowa’s largest newspapers next week. Godar is a 2002 Iowa State University graduate and says she loves her job. “I’ve always had a passion for seeing things built and doing something with my hands,” Godar says. “I stumbled upon architecture through my love of math and science. It’s so cool to go to work every day and work as a team and see something at the end of the day that was not there, that was in my head six months ago, physically built and you can inhabit the space. It’s a pretty cool profession.”
For more information, visit “www.aiaiowa.org“.