The Dubuque Intermodal center nestles between downtown and the highway to regenerate a historic manufacturing district with local, federal, and state funded infrastructure.
Three components make up the transportation campus: a structured parking garage for 292 vehicles (with an eventual expansion to 450 vehicles), an overhead walkway, and a 9,000 sf terminal building which provides ticketing for both local and interstate bus services, transit office space, and public restrooms for the area. The center is poised to accommodate a potential future passenger train connecting to Chicago and Minneapolis.
Programmatic elements compose a backdrop for the district and screen the area from the highway. The configuration also fosters an urban edge and frames a future public green space described by the district’s master plan.
Scale and proportions reference the historic setting. Column and window spacing recall the rhythm of surrounding warehouse building facades. This also meets the State’s historical preservation guidelines for new buildings.
Terracotta cladding compliments the district’s brick construction: baguettes clothe the parking component and a terracotta rain-screen system wraps the terminal building. The baguettes’ varied angles and locations veil parked vehicles while meeting openness requirements. Their pattern reappears, at reduced scale, in the perforated aluminum panels that unify and highlight pedestrian circulation among the buildings.
Project Type: Infrastructure
Location: Dubuque, Iowa
Size: 9,492 SF
292 parking stalls
Completed: 2015
Awards: 2018 AIA Iowa Design Award (Merit)
Collaborators: Rich & Associates, Parking Consultant
Awards: 2018 AIA Iowa Design Award (Merit)
