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Columbus Learning Center
Columbus, Ind.
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
PC
Low-slung design helps shorten
the psychological distance among three schools
The Columbus Indiana Learning
Center is a 123,000-square-foot community resource center
and expansion space for three educational institutions:
Indiana University/Purdue University Columbus, Purdue
School of Technology Columbus, and Ivy Tech State College
Columbus. The building serves the education and workforce
needs of the community by providing services and teaching
rooms for lifelong learning, from grammar school to
adult continuing education.
The Learning Center's horizontality, which bears a
resemblance to Eero Saarinen's design aesthetic, serves
a practical function: the new facility is sited between
the existing institutions and its low-slung massing
helps reduce their physical and psychological distance
between the schools. Combined, the buildings now form
a college campus centered on a landscaped green.
A glass-enclosed "street" links the lobby
to all services within the facility. Wired lounges interspersed
along this passage allow for spontaneous interactions
among students and community members. Major destination
points at both ends encourage movement down the length
of the building, from the auditorium and dining area
at the south end, to the Center for Teaching and Learning
at the north. A ramp and stair suspended within the
corridor lead to classrooms and computer teaching laboratories.
The architect located these spaces on a single level
to allow for future reconfiguration. A raised-floor
system, with the entire floor plate being a plenum,
adds further flexibility to the design.
Formal
name of project:
Columbus Indiana Learning Center
Location:
Columbus, Ind.
Gross
square footage:
123,000 sq. ft.
Total
Construction Cost:
$26.9 million
Owner:
Community Education Coalition/City of Columbus
Architect:
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC
111 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
212-977-6500 tel.
212-956-2526 fax
www.kpf.com
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