Two minutes

An architect and cultural expert on the state fair

When he looks at the animal barns at the Iowa State Fair, Thomas Leslie sees cultural history. That's why the associate professor of architecture wrote, "Iowa State Fair: Country Comes to Town," published by Princeton Architectural Press.

What's interesting about the fair: It's where industry, technology (the barns and grandstand were high-tech for their day) and urban design come together in ways that let us read a bit of history into them. The barns are a perfect example of how the fair balances Iowa's two cultures -- urban and rural. Their functional, agricultural interiors are dressed up with formal brick skins, that fit the designers' idea of an urban fair.

Favorite Iowa State Fair memory: Soon after moving from California, Leslie's family visited the fair. When his young daughter, who had only lived in a city, saw the horse ring, she yelled loud enough for all to hear, "Look, COWS!"

Life before ISU: For Sir Norman Foster and Partners, Leslie was site architect for the Center for Clinical Sciences Research at Stanford University, and worked on the Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha.

How he spent his summer vacation: As Visiting Fellow at the University of Technology, Sydney.