collaborative

Moravec Hall

Moravec Hall is the new main academic building for the Ivy Tech Columbus campus. Ivy Tech shares this campus with Purdue Polytechnic, the Columbus Learning Center, and Indiana University Columbus. This building replaces Poling Hall, and houses all departments for the programs offered on this campus.

In addition to classrooms and laboratories, this two story facility contains a student commons, offices for enrollment and advising services, as well as administrative spaces. The academic courses at this campus focus on healthcare sectors, including nursing, dental assisting, medical assisting, phlebotomy, and surgical tech with labs for health science and visual communication programs as well as a flight simulator for the aviation program.

The building design revolves around a central, two-story spine that has a social stair as its focus. This is not only a communicating stair, but provides intermediate landings for study and collaboration. Above the social stair are three, large roof monitors which provide ample daylight to the center of the building. The stair anchors a large Student Commons on the first floor, which is used for a variety of College events. Immediately adjacent to the Commons is a 156 seat Community Room, which has sliding doors on the corner allowing these spaces to be combined for larger events.

CSO collaborated with IwamotoScott Architecture on the design of this project. Design for the project started in February 2020, and continued uninterrupted through the COVID-19 Pandemic. Most of the design, approval and documentation was conducted remotely. Ivy Tech contracted directly with CSO for architect-of-record, engineering and furniture selection & procurement services. Then, selected IwamotoScott Architecture via a design competition sponsored by the Cummins Foundation. This project was part of grant funded by the Cummins Foundation Architectural Program in 2019.

Health Sciences Building

Part of the University’s efforts to economically revive the south side neighborhood and attract new students, the Health Sciences building provides a new gateway to campus and an integrated hub where faculty, students, and healthcare professionals can collaborate on education and research.

The new Health Sciences building is reflective of the University’s commitment to inspiring excellence by providing learning opportunities that respond in innovative ways to the needs of all students. The building design presents a transparent, flexible concept that allows for current and future needs of the programs housed within. The building’s prominent location creates an ideal venue for an outdoor seating and interaction area adjacent to the indoor café.

The building consolidates several departments into a collaborative and integrated learning environment that promotes intellectual and social interaction among students and faculty. Included in the design are teaching spaces, faculty areas, research labs, and wellness-related areas for the Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Kinesiology, and Psychology Programs.

Imagination Lab

Plainfield Schools sought to repurpose a 17,000 square foot natatorium into an educational facility. Their goal was to create an innovative, inspiring, hands-on learning facility branded as the “Imagination Lab”. A team of a passionate educators were assembled to work with the design team. They worked together to establish the program and over-arching goals for the facility. In order to enhance the ability of the educators to envision the space, designers used virtual reality to allow educators to be “in” the spaces and provide amazing feedback that designers were able to build upon. The resulting design created an environment to empower students to think for themselves, imagine their futures, and grow the confidence, desire, and drive it takes to change the world.

A large lab space establishes the heart of the facility with supplementary spaces for focused means and methods of learning, building, creating, inventing, and investigating. At one end, a fabrication lab with sinks and work benches encourages hands on, messy work while two green rooms with cycloramas for video recording, two acoustically treated sound rooms for editing, and tables designed for collaboration around a computer are at the opposite end. A centrally focused gathering stair made of solid walnut planks provides an opportunity for speakers of all ages to present to large groups. Four Thinking Studios sit parallel to the lab and house artists-in-residence and encourage community vendors to provide an on-site learning experience. A Collaboration Corridor connects the Thinking Studios and the Lab. Flexible furniture provides options for various postures and group sizes as they work together to problem-solve, create, and learn. Operable glass partitions connect the corridor to the lab as well as connecting all of the thinking studios in order to create a large, open space supporting multiple functions.

Mobility was key as the needs and experiences change throughout the days, as do the ages of the students. The space comes to life with a wall graphic that captures the concept of the flow of learning. The mission of the Imagination Lab was to empower students to think for themselves, imagine their futures, and grow the confidence, desire, and drive it takes to change the world. The District will tell you: mission accomplished.

Cummins Seymour Technical Center

The new Cummins, Inc. Seymour Technical Center was designed as the Global Headquarters for High-Horsepower Design and Engineering. The 2-story office addition includes workspace and collaboration areas, a dining facility and social hub, new entrances, and a security and training pavilion for the engine plant. The building design is a bold expression of Cummins’ engineering prowess and its proud history of designing, manufacturing, and distributing the finest, most powerful engines in the world. The main entrances incorporate dramatically cantilevered steel canopies, which are reminiscent of Columbus, Indiana’s iconic red suspension bridge. The office building’s exterior was designed with an advanced engineered skin, incorporating an exterior daylighting and shading system. Each of the primary exterior façades has been purposefully designed to respond to its specific and unique solar orientation.

Cummins wanted to “bring the office into the plant, and the plant into the office.” Highly durable and raw industrial materials such as corrugated steel panels, polished concrete, and wood slats fastened to exposed metal studs were incorporated throughout the office environment. These same materials can be found on the plant floor, and therefore subtly reinforce the connection. The engine assembly and finishing process was carefully examined early in the design process with the goal of informing the final design. Elements of the manufacturing process are on display in the office area through the incorporation of design features such as the compound curves and finish found on powder-coated steel benches which mimic the sleek lines of the engines.

Highly flexible, ergonomic workspace solutions and state-of-the-art audiovisual collaboration systems allow the engineers to tailor how and where they work. A variety of flexible meeting rooms, focus booths, soft seating areas, and social hubs are available to accommodate the changing needs of their workforce and promote interaction, collaboration, and engineering innovation.

The Cummins Seymour Technical Center does more than provide much needed space for engineering staff – it uplifts their work force in beautiful spaces and is an inspiring reflection of Cummins’ proud tradition of world-class engineering.

Roche Diagnostics Lab and Office

The objective for this 55,569 square foot, 2-story building addition was to bring together five related product testing laboratories into one unified setting for increased productivity and effectiveness. In order to address workflow requirements, the design is sited as an addition to an existing building but it is essentially a freestanding two-story structure. The program included product testing labs, various purpose-designed meeting spaces, social hub/interaction spaces, and a variety of flexible, concentrative and mobile work settings.

The program areas were layered vertically in the building to manage biohazard separations and controls, with the lab spaces on the first floor and the flexible work environments, meeting, and interaction areas located on the second floor for access to natural light. In order to promote interaction and a sense of community, the most public function – the social hub – is located adjacent to the main staircase, at the most centralized point in the circulation atrium. This convergence of circulation and social functions has proven to be very conducive to staff interaction.

In order to maximize natural light while adhering to sustainable design features, detailed 3-D models, sun path studies, building sections, and energy analysis models were developed and analyzed to inform the final design configuration of the west façade shading system and glazing. The design solution creates a carefully designed, glazed west-facing façade which allows very controlled, diffused natural daylight directly into the circulation atrium and deeply into the lab, office, and interaction spaces beyond.

The interior spaces were designed with extensive interior glazing to display the advanced laboratory technology and innovation that is central to Roche’s business success and corporate culture, as well as to allow for the deep penetration of natural light. The Design Team combined very clean, European modernist materials and furnishings with a warm palette of neutral hues and accent colors rooted in the native Indiana landscape.

As the result of the client’s tech-based culture and high design aspirations, the design team employed a rigorous, multidisciplinary, sustainable design approach to create an uplifting, technologically advanced facility that inspires its scientific staff and expresses its culture of scientific innovation.

Columbus North High School

The goals for Columbus North High School included: flexible and adaptable learning spaces; an easily accessible, technology-rich environment; teacher and student work areas that inspire creativity, collaboration, problem solving, and innovation; the development of Centers of Excellence; and a safe and comfortable learning environment.

The project consists of 125,000 square feet of new additions and extensive renovations. By relocating the building entry to the opposite side and strategically placing building additions, the existing high school was transformed to fully address current needs and anticipate future needs. In order to bring the school up to current standards, five separate additions provide new space for music/performing arts, administrative areas, a new kitchen, additional classrooms, student resource and teacher resource areas, and for C4, a career and technical training center that serves multiple counties.

Interior renovations include the reconfiguration of existing areas to better accommodate the existing use of the space or to accommodate a new use for the space. Renovations of the first floor include the relocation of the existing cafeteria and kitchen areas, the relocation of the media center, new and/or renovated restrooms, and two new science labs.

Center Grove High School

The Center Grove Community School Corporation engaged CSO to undertake a 220,000 square foot renovation project at Center Grove High School. In addition to updating aging classrooms, the school corporation called on CSO to transform their traditional library into a vital, technology-rich student center which also houses the offices of their new global studies program.

CSO’s design includes informal student learning areas throughout the building that provide students with multiple venues and opportunities for collaboration. The new design included the creation of a student commons through the center of the building that will help improve traffic flow on the main floor of the facility as well as providing small collaboration areas, project rooms, a large presentation space, computer labs, and a student coffee bar.

In addition to the media center, the full scope of the project included upgraded finishes for all classrooms and offices throughout the building as well as relocation of the main office, new secure entries, renovation of science labs, improved circulation, and accessibility upgrades.

HSE College and Career Academies

Hamilton Southeastern Schools conducted a community study and determined that rather than building a third high school to meet the needs of their growing community, they would build advanced learning center academies at each campus to accommodate an additional 1,000 students.

CSO was selected to work with stakeholders to explore the requirements of a learning center that would meet their academic needs while taking into consideration what teaching and learning looks like at institutions of higher education and centers of innovative learning. CSO worked with educational experts to gather stakeholder input around the tenets of 21st Century School Design and developed design concepts that met the required scope and quality for the project. Design documents and detailed renderings were developed for both high schools and were critical in the passing of the May 2013 referendum. After the referendum was passed, CSO used the detailed design documents to develop the design criteria package that allowed the school corporation to issue an RFP for design-build teams. CSO stayed on the project through construction as owner’s representative.

In addition to expanding each high school’s capacity by 1,000 students, the academies also reflect the most innovative design for teaching and learning with accessible space for early college classes that provide actual college credits for high school students. Additions are 2-stories and reflect the qualities of 21st Century Design with copious daylight, transparency in learning spaces, ubiquitous technology, and flexible learning spaces that are sized for small and large group gatherings. Teachers do not “own” their classroom space but have an office space available, similar to the arrangements in higher education. A Student Learning Commons, adjacent to the student café, has technology tables and opportunities for small group collaboration. A large, open science lab serves all disciplines and art labs open to one another, creating a free flowing creative environment.

Geddes Hall

The building features the University’s traditional blend of brick colors with light colored cast stone accents, copper gutters and downspouts, and a slate roof. The façade is punctuated with regularly spaced operable windows. The detailed profile of these windows exactly match the historic wood windows installed in the two buildings adjacent to the project, which were built in the 1940’s. The Geddes windows, however, reinterpret the window design in long lasting, energy efficient, and maintenance free anodized aluminum frames with high performance glazing.

The interior is distinctly arts and crafts inspired. Warm yellows, earthy reds, and muted deep green colors are used throughout the building giving it a cozy earthy character. Wood wainscoting used heavily in the public spaces adds to the building’s inviting nature and historic feel. Informal gathering spaces of various sizes are found throughout the building. Of particular note is the student library, found on the first floor, which features a fireplace centered along the north wall flanked by traditional built-in bookcases and classic arts and crafts furniture. Two of the other focal points on the first floor are the chapel and coffee house, located just off the building’s main entrance.

Bartlett Reflection Center

The James and Susan Bartlett Center for Reflection was conceived as a quiet, contemplative place located in the DePauw University Nature Park. The University envisioned a unique place for reflection on values and thoughtful examination of life.

The Center is anchored by a glass-walled gathering room featuring a towering limestone fireplace that serves as a backdrop to group discussions, lectures, sermons, and events. The building also includes a theological library and extensive outdoor deck areas in order to enjoy the surrounding environment.

The small structure was designed sustainably to minimize its impact on the environment and its immediate environs. The building was constructed with natural, regional, and recycled materials. The site and adjacent habitat were restored with native Indiana plants and incorporate a natural rainwater treatment pond. The interior environments were designed to maximize natural light, views, human comfort, and controllability. CSO completed this project in conjunction with Lake|Flato Architects.

Central Middle School

The replacement project for Central Middle School started with a series of workshops involving students, administrators, teachers, staff, parents, and Columbus community members. The goals for Central Middle School were to prepare for change in the future, promote collaboration through student-centered teams, integrate technology, incorporate flexible spaces, encourage community use and partnerships, and create a secure yet accessible environment.

CSO worked in collaboration with Perkins + Will to plan a flexible facility that would accommodate future growth and curriculum changes. The school is zoned into two components: an academic zone and a public zone. In the academic zone, spaces are grouped together to support the middle school team model and create a smaller scale environment for students, while remaining flexible for future teaching needs. Twenty four classrooms are grouped into teams consisting of three classrooms, a laboratory, and a shared space. Public spaces are separated from academic spaces by the building’s main entry. A multi-story commons acts as a cafeteria and multi-functional hub for students.

The use of historic signage and façade elements allow this new school to blend in with historic downtown Columbus. Significant green spaces create an educational park for the town while maintaining a neighborhood identity.