Contextual materiality: the Jewell Golf and Country Club project

Abstract

<p>In any design process, materials affect every aspect of the final project, ranging from functional elements and key structural components to the overall aesthetics and determining final cost. Through this thesis, I will show that a material palette rich in the architectural character of a rural community, specifically the town of Jewell, Iowa, is enough to maintain a link to the historical and current surrounding context no matter what new formal expressions are introduced throughout the design. In the spring of 2004, five graduate students in architecture from Iowa State University at Ames proposed an idea for a design/build project to be completed the following year. Students from Iowa Central Community College Building Trades Program in Fort Dodge were approached to be a part of the project. There was a blending of ideas and a project in a small, rural community centrally located between the two schools was considered. The Jewell Area Development Enterprise (JADE) was approached to see if any projects were needed in that locale. Upon meeting with JADE the idea of a golf clubhouse/community center was suggested. The board members of the Jewell Golf and Country Club were approached to see if they would consider a new clubhouse/community center designed and built by a group of students from Iowa State and Iowa Central Community College under the auspices of Bruce Bassler of Iowa State University and Bill McAnally from Iowa Central Community College. The building is set for completion in May 2005.</p>