Purdue University

Carr Workplaces – Convergence

At the outset of the project, the Purdue Research Foundation partnered with Carr Workplaces to create a building unlike any other on Purdue University’s campus. This building was planned to serve as a catalyst for idea exchanges and idea incubation. The vision included entrepreneurs, established Fortune 500 companies, university faculty and students all converging in a single location. “Convergence” evolved as the concept.

The space includes 68 private offices, drop-in workspaces, meeting rooms, and event space on the first two floors of the center. The project included the design of the building’s public spaces along with the space for Carr Workplaces.

Upon entering the building, visitors are entrenched within the convergence ecosystem. Collaboration spaces including: community tables, informal lounge settings and private conference rooms surround the dynamic 2-story atrium. The artfully woven lighting above the atrium is symbolic of the idea exchange concept and serves as a subtle branded component. The balance of exposed structural steel elements and refined details speaks to the synergy between “Boilermakers” and corporate partnerships.

The Carr space continues the subtle color story of the atrium, and reimagines it as bold patterns and strategic color blocking. A neutral foundation of the iconic Purdue “black and gold” translates to steel and wood, and enables bright blues, oranges and greens to take center stage.

The artwork contributes seamlessly to the dynamic color integration, and reveals another layer of the complex design. Carefully curated art reminds users of the rich Purdue University heritage, and their contributions to Agriculture, Aeronautics, Engineering and Space Exploration.

A diverse assortment of work settings allows users to tailor the space to meet their needs. The incorporation of neighborhood plazas places the opportunity to collaborate at the user’s doorstep. Both formal and informal settings support this exchange and further the opportunity to choose. Strategic circulation paths facilitate impromptu exchanges, and are designed to encourage wellness.

Convergence is where private industry is strategically located at Purdue University’s front door. It is an incubator for innovation. As Purdue states, it is “where ideas will be turned into discoveries and global challenges translated into innovations and impact.”

Honors College and Residences

Purdue University envisioned an interdisciplinary living-learning community that would serve as a centralized hub for the students, administration, and academic spaces associated with their Honors College program. As their only academic residential college, the University’s goal was to provide students with an environment purposefully designed for state-of-the-art active learning.

The academic spaces consist of approximately 40,000 square feet to accommodate faculty and staff offices, classrooms, innovation space, and study spaces. Learning and leadership opportunities include a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and agriculture, math) research lab, active learning studios, and an Innovation Forum – featuring an interactive, programmable floor – provides a showcase for student projects.

The “Great Hall”, a flexible space that can be configured to seat more than 400 for lectures, presentations, and events, is the centerpiece of the Honors College. The space is located in the center of the community with access to a primary campus path and greenspace.

The two buildings that make up the community – each with academic space and residential space – are located within the University’s “student success corridor.” Over 800 students live in clusters of roughly 24 students in pod configurations complemented by community and social areas designed to foster informal interaction and collaboration.

Seng-Liang Wang Hall

The 4-story, 147,000 square foot building is designed to house research and laboratory space for Purdue’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, as well as 22,000 square feet of commercially-leased retail space and 60,000 square feet of Class A office space. Its beautiful common areas include an open, light-filled 4-story atrium and indoor and outdoor gathering and seating areas.

The building received LEED New Construction Gold certification recognizing Wang Hall’s best-in-class “green” building strategies and practices. The building was completed on a sustainable project site and is located in a community setting within existing residential and commercial infrastructure. In addition, the building and site were designed to minimize the impact of urban heat islands on neighboring developments and habitats. The design is mindful of both water efficiency and energy efficiency, and was designed with low-flow and high-efficiency flush and flow fixtures to reduce potable water use within the building.

The Avenue

The design for the Avenue includes three structures on one site. The main building parallels 10th Street and includes 21,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor.

Apartment amenities and community features include modern apartments fully equipped with black, stainless-steel appliances, walk-in closets and spacious patios and balconies; a fitness center; a saltwater swimming pool with an outdoor kitchen and grill; Internet café, media room, and business center with several study areas.

This 4-story, 76 unit, wood frame apartment building has a concrete and steel podium structure constructed between two buildings. The second building is a 4-story, 48 unit, wood frame apartment building with slab on grade construction. The third building is a 4-story wood frame building consisting of approximately 3,500 square feet of amenity space on the first floor and 6 units (3 flats, 3 townhomes) constructed within the three stories above the amenity space. Additionally, the Avenue has a 3-story, 260 space, on-site parking garage.

Marriott Hall

The facility is a teaching facility as well as a student dining venue. The design of Marriott Hall recalls the “quintessential Purdue style” of dark red brick and tile roof found on adjacent academic halls, while providing a more open and inviting transparent façade on State Street. The interior features a two-story dining space with a coffee bar and two student-operated restaurants: The John Purdue Room, a fine-dining restaurant in which students prepare and serve the food and manage the kitchen and dining room, and The Boiler Bistro, a quick-service restaurant where the food is cooked to order. These spaces are supported by the Teaching Kitchen, which functions as a lab as well as the main kitchen preparation area for the facility. A 95-seat demonstration hall consists of a lecture room with a kitchen that is used to teach cooking classes.

Saab Aeronautics

Located in Purdue University’s Discovery Park, this advanced manufacturing facility will support production of the U.S. Air Force’s T-X jet trainer and will be SAAB’s flagship design and manufacturing presence in the US. The facility includes a 27,000 square foot corporate office with a 3,000 square foot lobby with a 1/3 scale model of the TX fighter, plus meeting/collaboration spaces, locker rooms, generous break areas and (2) trellised outdoor patios. The 87,000 square foot manufacturing area includes receiving, parts storage, subassembly, final assembly, and shipping areas with (5) beam cranes and specialized power, vacuum and compressed air systems to support the manufacturing jigs.