The Durham Center opened in 1989 to satisfy the computer needs and the telecommunication needs of the 25,000-student campus.

The new building, which is actually named the "Charles W. Durham and Marge Henningson Durham Center for Computation and Communication," allowed the university to double the computer capacity available for research and instructional support for students and faculty alike. And this doubling of the university's computer capacity was only the beginning of a long sequence of computational improvements within the university aimed at giving Iowa State students access to one of the best computer systems available to students anywhere.

The Durham Center also serves as the headquarters for the university's expanded telecommunications system, allowing for unencumbered growth as telecommunications needs continue to expand.

The Durham Center boasts a striking design that features a slanted roof covered with copper sheeting, a limestone finish to complement nearby buildings, and a sixty-foot-high atrium with large lighting trellises suspended forty feet off the floor.