Iowa State Capitol Complex Master Plan I
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Iowa State Capitol Complex I Master Plan January 7, 2010 (Amended December 2020) State of Iowa Department of Administrative Services & Capitol Planning Commission Confluence Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP Jeffrey Morgan Architecture Studio Tilghman Group Snyder and Associates [ This page intentionally left blank ] Iowa State Capitol Complex Master Plan Master Complex Capitol State Iowa Contents ii Preface 78 Architectural Design 82 Utilities 1 Chapter 1 - The Vision 84 Parking 9 Chapter 2 - Principal Influences on the Plan 88 Transit 10 Historical Development 92 Pedestrian and Bicycle Circulation 16 Capitol Neighborhood 99 Sustainable Development Principles 23 Chapter 3 - Capitol Complex 107 Chapter 4 - Making the Vision a Reality 24 Concept 111 Acknowledgements 28 Approaches and Gateways 30 View Corridors and Streets 117 Appendix A - Transportation Plan 38 Access and Circulation 131 Appendix B - Facility Needs Assessment 45 Landscape Framework Summary 58 Monuments and Public Art 155 Appendix C - Capitol Complex Planning History 62 Site Amenities 64 Signs and Visitor Information 164 Appendix D - Annual Review & Update of Iowa State Capitol Complex 2010 72 Buildings Master Plan i ii Iowa State Capitol Complex Master Plan Master Complex Capitol State Iowa Preface iii Introduction Amended December 2016, 2020 The Iowa State Legislature appropriated funds to the Department of Administrative than fiscal years. Services for updating the 2000 Master Plan for physical facilities on the Iowa State Capitol Complex. The resulting 2010-2060 plan was prepared in close collaboration Beginning in 2015, the Capitol Planning Commission committed to keeping the with the Capitol Planning Commission for its consideration and acceptance. The Master Plan viable and current by annually reviewing the Plan to note accomplished consultant team was led by Confluence and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects goals as well as recognizing evolving changes in conditions and assumptions. In LLP with Jeffrey Morgan Architecture Studio, the Tilghman Group and Snyder and some cases, the annual review also leads to amendments to the Plan. Annual Associates. reviews are recorded in Appendix D to the Plan. What this Plan Is: What this Plan is Not: This Master Plan is intended to provide a rational basis for decisions concerning This plan did not study the needs of the Legislative or Judicial branches of state the restoration, preservation, improvement and expansion of the Capitol buildings government. Plans completed by other consultants for these branches were and grounds. As such, it addresses the values of those whom the Capitol Complex referenced and these references are cited in the plan. represents; values including the quality design and materials of architecture and landscape, principles of sustainability, access and circulation, relationships The Iowa State Capitol Complex Master Plan is not a directive as to what buildings, to adjacent communities, views and vistas, statues, fountains, and memorials. statues, fountains, and monuments shall be built, nor what programs shall be The Plan is rooted in the history of the place and of the fabric of the Capitol. developed. It does not direct growth. Recommendations are made for eventual expansion of the grounds to the north, where the freeway now forms a ‘natural’ edge. The Iowa State Capitol Complex This plan does not appropriate funds. Projects should still be looked at on an Master Plan represents a vision for the future of the Capitol and its adjuncts, and individual basis and funds allocated to follow the intent of the Master Plan. makes clear recommendations on how that vision is to be achieved. Last, this plan does not limit or restrict future planning. For all of the research The Plan is also intended as a resource for local jurisdictions and neighborhoods completed and interviews conducted, the team can’t predict the future. This surrounding the Capitol. Opportunities for complementary development plan has a vision for the next 50 years, but we fully understand and anticipate are investigated. These interests include Des Moines Planning and Zoning that a combination of technology, transportation changes, culture, and financial Commission, Metropolitan Transit Authority, neighborhoods including East Village, decisions will alter this vision as time passes. Capitol Park and Capitol East, and businesses and associations such as the Greater Des Moines Partnership. The Commission recognizes the City of Des Moines Comprehensive Plan (“Plan DSM: Creating Our Tomorrow”, dated April 2016) and intends to the extent practical and possible to coordinate the goals of this Master Plan with those of the city. The Master Plan as published in 2010 projected goals across the five decades. For ease of understanding, the years of the Plan are stated in calendar years rather iv Iowa State Capitol Complex Master Plan Master Complex Capitol State Iowa How the Master Plan was Developed: How to use the Master Plan: The Department of Administrative Services formed a consultant selection panel This Master Plan includes a number of recommendations, primarily regarding composed of members of the Legislative and Judicial branch staffs, the Capitol land use and building locations. Decision-makers in facility planning should Planning Commission, and the Department of Administrative Services. The panel closely follow these recommendations. Specifically, the Master Plan addresses interviewed several firms prior to selecting the consultants for this study. recommendations and guidelines for planning, architectural scale, massing and character, landscape features, parking, facility preservation, and maintenance. A Steering Committee of approximately 20 individuals representing a broad cross These recommendations should be closely studied and should be considered section of people in the Capitol Complex, the surrounding neighborhoods and in all facility decisions. area businesses was formed. The Steering Committee met regularly, reviewing supporting data and elements of the plan as they were developed. This Master Plan includes recommendations for further studies to develop a five-part Site Development Implementation Plan. These include a landscape Committee members and consultants attended meetings to review the history of plan and a site amenities plan. These studies should be undertaken as soon as planning at the Capitol Complex and to identify the underlying design philosophies possible based on the Master Plan. This plan also contains recommendations of the layout of the Complex. The Masqueray Plan of 1913 was the Master Plan of the regarding the design and construction of future buildings to meet needs Capitol Complex which established the classical layout which still predominates. identified in the planning process. These recommendations should be re- Town meetings were regularly held in Des Moines to present information to evaluated based on data that is current at the time decisions are being made. interested persons and groups. All elements of the plan were presented at the town meetings after they were presented to the Steering Committee, and were made Most of the information and recommendations in this Master Plan will remain available on the DAS website. valid for many years. However, each addition and change to the Capitol Complex and its neighbors will influence future actions, so the plan should All agencies of the Executive Branch were contacted to provide information on be reviewed on a regular basis and updated as needed. The Plan provides staffing levels and locations for the past six years, and projected changes during a framework and guidelines for the planning of future development of the the next 20 years. The agencies identified a need to continue a moderate rate of Capitol Complex. It provides the linkage of the past through the present to the growth. An analysis of space owned and leased by the State, combined with the future for use of the Complex. needs of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches, was used to identify the need for possible new buildings on the Capitol Complex. Preface v Iowa State Capitol Complex Master Plan Master Complex Capitol State Iowa Chapter 1: The Vision 1 The Vision Restoration of the Capitol and creation of the West Capitol Terrace have reaffirmed These distinct visions call for community-based sponsorship of the Master Plan. the power of this icon to represent the State of Iowa. The Capitol Building is a A Steering Committee made up of state, local and neighborhood representatives remarkable and magnificent statement by the state’s founders of their vision for and public agencies brought a broad spectrum of viewpoints to the development Iowa. Built at a time when statehood was still a recent innovation for many people, of a vision for the Capitol Complex. Through the updating process, these ideas the testament made by the Capitol Building was clear and unequivocal: this state were carried forward and refined under the watchful eyes of the Capitol Planning will stand and will lead for all time. Commission and Master Plan Steering Committee. Connections to downtown and the river have been improved since 2000, with public and private investments Today, that promise has been remade through painstaking restoration of the state’s along Locust Street beginning to draw together the distinct visions of the Capital finest symbol. Today too, awareness has shifted to the complex of buildings and City and neighborhoods. grounds that support the Capitol Building and its occupants