IDOT — Rest
Area
Jasper
Co. West

Client
Iowa Department of Transportation
Location
Jasper Co., IA
Completion date
June 2017

This Iowa Department of Transportation rest area celebrates agricultural heritage through the lens of Century and Heritage Farms in Jasper County. 

Jasper County is home to 268 Century Farms and 10 Heritage Farms (as of 2015) through a program which began in 1976 in concert with the United States Bicentennial Celebration. It is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, with the endorsement of the Iowa American Revolution Bicentennial Commission. The story of Iowa's agriculture and rural history is interpreted through interviews, photographs and artifacts from people living and working in Jasper County. 

The glass fiber reinforce concrete (GFRC) benches were designed to represent the Grist mill stones that were used to grind grain.
The design in the terrazzo floor is from a topographical map of Jasper county, printed in 1901.
The Jasper County Rest Area entrance introduces visitors to the Jasper County map. Vinyl graphics on the glass are visually pleasing and add safety measures to the entryway.
For the murals outside the restrooms, excerpts from the Atlas of Jasper County Iowa, 1901 were printed on heavy vinyl.
Custom digitally-glazed blocks tell the history of the Century Farms and Heritage farms throughout Jasper County.