Iowa State students took first place in the 2015 Healthcare Environment Awards students category for their conceptual design of a second patient tower at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) in Iowa City, according to an article on the Iowa State website. 

The annual awards are co-sponsored by Contract magazine and the Center for Health Design. 

A 12-story tower designed by Sir Norman Foster that will house the new children’s hospital is under construction on the UIHC campus. Students were tasked with designing a second tower that would complement the current project and address complex site challenges.

“Our tower is close to an oval shape, but each floor spirals and rotates as it goes up,” student Casey Tiedman, said. The first three floors rotate 30 degrees, with each floor after rotating 4 degrees. The twisting form enhances views from patient rooms and aids in traffic circulation, with vehicular access on the ground level and protected pedestrian circulation a level above.

Read the article.