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Since 2000, San Francisco-based IwamotoScott Architecture has established itself as a thoughtful and artistically inclined office that doesn’t shy away from history and theory. Yet even after more than two decades in the practice, the office’s co-founders, Craig Scott and Lisa Iwamoto, still describe their new project, Ivy Tech’s Moravec Hall, as a milestone. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us,” Scott said, because of the campus’ location: Columbus, Indiana.
This small Indiana city has an iconic architectural pedigree, thanks in large part to the philanthropy of the Cummins Foundation, the nonprofit arm of local manufacturing giant Cummins. Since 1957, the Foundation has commissioned more than 50 renowned architects to design socially sensitive buildings in Columbus, including Venturi and Rauch, IM Pei, Deborah Berke, Leers Weinzapfel and Harry Weese. So when the foundation announced its intention to fund a new building at the Ivy Tech satellite campus in Columbus, a bevy of heavyweight contemporary studios answered the call, but one ultimately stood out.
“When the Cummins Foundation called to gauge our interest in designing a campus building in Columbus, my initial reaction was, ‘Who wouldn’t be interested?’” Lisa Iwamoto told us one. “This is Columbus, Indiana we’re talking about!”
Ivy Tech is a community college with 45 campuses in Indiana. In 2019, five competing firms competed to design an 80,000-square-foot replacement building at Ivy Tech’s Columbus facility. Snow Kreilich Architects, nARCHITECTS, Marlon Blackwell Architects and SO – IL were also shortlisted for the project. In February 2020, IwamotoScott was announced as the winner of the $32 million project. CSO Architects and Pepper Construction are the architect of record and general contractor, respectively.
The architects describe their design as “a campus under one roof” without going a penny over budget. Iwamoto Scott’s section is a relatively simple rectangular volume that houses bouillabaisse from various university departments. Health sciences, nursing and dental laboratories, surgical technology, business education, communication and graphic arts, general and early childhood education, and even aviation are all under one roof. Most areas of the building are only open to students and staff, while some areas, such as the dental laboratory, must be open to the public, requiring unique circulation solutions.
Moravec Hall shares a site with several institutions clustered around a quadrangle. Its neighbors include the Advanced Manufacturing Center designed by Cesar Pelli and the Columbus Learning Center designed by Kevin Kennon of Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects. The previous Ivy Tech building built by CMU was dwarfed by its Paley and Kennon-designed neighbors. Additionally, it has little natural light and its connection to the quadrangle is dim. The skylights in the classrooms are crude and there is no sunlight at all in the double-layered corridors. “The first thing our stakeholders said to us was that the new building needs to have a lot of sunlight,” Iwamoto said. “It also needs to be better connected to the quad area where other campus buildings are located.”
During the schematic design process, the architects faced another challenge: construction could not disrupt the semester, so the new building had to be constructed elsewhere on the site, while students and teachers remained in the existing buildings. IwamotoScott responded by installing the new building in the remaining space adjacent to the existing Ivy Tech building. Alternative architecture rises out of the negative void, while the course continues uninterrupted. The old building was quickly demolished; students and teachers began using the new building last year.
With this intervention, Scott Iwamoto successfully squared off the existing quad facing Kennon and Paley. However, the architects describe their contribution as a simple box with “a little crank”. The architects said the crank creates an impression of the entrance and provides a natural exit point for users entering and exiting the Columbus Learning Center. Between the exits is what Scott Iwamoto calls the “social spine,” an internal street connecting the building’s front to the plaza. The social spine floods the interior with natural light, and its sculptural ceiling adds visual flavor. “We were really inspired by Portuguese architects like Alvaro Siza,” Iwamoto said. “That is how much they focus on the voids and how they shape the light.”
California Architects noted that brick was the material of choice and that general contractors chose it early on for its cost-effectiveness. As a result, the building’s surface is white brick, contrasting with the plinth, which is covered with black panels. Brick beams around the windows also suggest texture, shadow and playfulness. Working with limited “economic means,” Scott said, the ensemble drew inspiration from Venturi Scott Brown, how Philadelphia architects embraced the value of utilitarian volumes suitable for a variety of projects. This way, things can evolve over time. Iwamoto acknowledges the influence of Venturi and Scott Brown, but clarifies that this is more than just a decorated shed: “It’s a synthesis of ideas,” Iwamoto says.
Iwamoto and Scott noted that they were fortunate to have Dr. Steven Combs, president of Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus, as a client of the project. “Dr. Combs is a true lover of architecture,” Iwamoto said. The two were equally inspired by Columbus’ architectural pedigree and the community at large. “I remember walking into a nearby Walgreens and talking to the clerk there about Saarinen,” Iwamoto said. “Columbus had such a deep appreciation and care for architecture. That’s special.”
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