Architecture of the Institute

Now a campus landmark, the Dole Institute building was conceived by Kansas City architectural firm of ASIA Architecture. At the time of the building’s dedication, architect Steve Abend noted that his design attempted to express “… the intangible qualities which represent Senator Dole”.

Exterior of the Institute

The area in front of the building’s sweeping colonnade is occupied by a 32,000 square foot reflecting pool, reminiscent of Washington’s Tidal Basin, and is the gift of Polly Bales of Logan, Kansas.

The architect used limestone of varying finishes which was quarried in Kansas, and which echoes rural images at the north end of the building but gradually becomes more refined toward the south and the Institute's entrance. The evolving texture of the stone reflects that idea of change, ending with the statesmanlike front facade which looks very similar to some federal buildings in Washington, DC.

A fourteen-foot replica of the Kansas state seal (a gift of the Hansen Foundation of Logan, Kansas) crowns the building’s façade.

The building’s limestone main entrance fronts on a plaza paved with commemorative bricks, many donated in memory of World War II veterans. The area of this space continually expands as visitors donate personalized bricks.

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