Our aim was to draw the community in both day and night – to a place where campus life and the surrounding landscape become a natural extension of the spaces within the building, a vital intersection for cultural exchange at the heart of campus, symbolic of IU’s role in the global and international community.
Susan T. Rodriguez, Design Partner
A three-story glass-enclosed volume unifies two limestone-clad wings: one responds to the grid of the surrounding campus context and the other to the curved geometry of the adjacent former stadium. This monumental gathering space marks the intersection of movement to and through the building and is emblematic of the University’s commitment to international studies on campus.
Locally-quarried Indiana limestone on the building’s exterior adheres to the campus’s context, with accents of vibrant colored stones from around the world referencing the study of global cultures. This rich variety of materials and textures culminates with a three-story wall of international stones in the central atrium.
Integrated into the sloping topography at the eastern edge of the campus’s historic core, the design fuses building and landscape by framing a new terrace as an extension of public gathering spaces within the building.
Great architecture gives you a sense of well-being often without your explicit knowledge. If you pause in the three-story glass atrium or the classrooms that are filled with natural light and overlook the arboretum, you know that the building is destined to be one of those places that bring people back to IU.
Larry Singell, Executive Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
