Tall piles of sandbags lined roads and sidewalks in an attempt to block the raging flow of the historic flood that swept through Iowa City in 2008.

Sandbags couldn’t prevent the Iowa River from rising high enough to flow into the streets and submerge the adjacent buildings in its path.

Countless homes, businesses, and restaurants in Iowa City and surrounding areas were damaged or destroyed by the 500-year flood.

The University of Iowa’s campus also faced destruction as the flood impacted over 20 buildings, such as the Main Library, Hancher Auditorium, the Iowa Memorial Union, and the Art Building.

The UI worked vigorously to repair the $750 million in flood damage, with the majority of the buildings having been fully repaired or renovated over the years. The Art Building, however, has not been one of them.

Now, the university is preparing to renovate the Art Building, with the overall budget for the project set to be about $37 million and renovations proposed to begin in December and finish in July 2026.

Updated designs include the mechanical, electrical, IT, and elevator systems being relocated to the second floor, furniture and equipment on the lower level being designed to be easily relocated from the building in case of a high-water event, maintaining the integrity of the exterior, and others.

Rod Lehnertz, senior vice president for finance and operations and architect at the UI, discussed the history and importance of the Art Building.

“The building itself was built in 1936, and it represented the first building built on the brand-new artist campus, which is the land west of the river across the IMU bridge,” Lehnertz said.

In addition, the Art Building created a space where art and art history would be taught under the same roof. The Art Building holds a prominent past, as it has hosted many artists such as Grant Wood, Philip Guston, Miriam Schapiro, Ana Mendieta, Elizabeth Catlett.

Since the 2008 flood, the Art Building has remained vacant due to the intensity of restoration needed.

Lehnertz said the UI collaborated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act to discuss future plans for the Art Building.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency works nationwide to prepare for, prevent, alleviate the effects of, and recover from disasters. Section 106 requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency to consider the impact of its actions on historic properties.

“The Section 106 group designated the building through damage to the point of replacement that deemed the building as worthy and required to be saved,” Lehnertz said. “Part of that agreement was that FEMA recognized its history and also expected the university to study and determine, once the site was effectively mitigated from flood risks, that we would repopulate the building at some point in the future.”

The university has conducted work over the past 15 years to increase flood protection, including a sidewalk system that can quickly and easily accept installing a flood wall barrier system.

After completing the necessary requirements to stabilize the Art Building, UI announced that it plans to renovate the building to become the new location for the UI’s Graduate College, the College of Education’s Art Education and Maker Space, and the School of Planning and Public Affairs.

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Lehnertz proposed the plan to the Iowa Board of Regents on Nov. 6, where said proposal was approved. Several Iowa Board of Regents members, including Regent David Barker, praised the plan to restore the historic building.

“Great projects and love to see the preserving and restoring of the historic buildings,” Barker said.

Makerspace Facilitator for the College of Education Darrell Currington expressed his excitement for the Makerspace to move from its current location to the UI’s Iowa City campus.

The Makerspace is located at the Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of Iowa at 2301 Oakdale Blvd. in Coralville. Currington said the Makerspace is a learning lab where pre-service teachers are exposed to technologies and teaching methods, which mostly involve STEAM education.

“We’ll definitely have more participants because [the Makerspace] will be closer to campus, and it will be more usable by students,” Currington said. “The idea of the maker spaces is that anyone can sort of drop in and utilize the space or the equipment, so they can work on school projects.”

In addition, the Makerspace will prepare students for when they enter the workforce and are in schools with maker spaces, which will help familiarize them with some of the technologies and methods of teaching with the equipment.

“Students can enter the world of teaching with experience on some of this more complicated technology, then their working life will be easier, but they’ll also be able to inspire

kids that they’re teaching a lot easier,” Currington said.

Overall, Currington and others involved are looking forward to the new changes and envision the programs growing even further.

“We’re very excited to have this rich piece of the University of Iowa history and architectural history open to the public to enjoy again,” Lenhertz said.