The University of Southern Indiana has expanded the University Center utilizing the latest cost-effective, environmentally-sustainable practices.
Designed by Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture, the USI expansion came together through innovative application of donated regional building materials, ranging from sewer pipes to wooden chair legs.
Some highlights from the USI University Center expansion include:
- A 28 ft.-tall, Indiana limestone arch, salvaged from Evansville’s former landmark Orr Iron Building serves as the principal portal to the central lounges.
- Slabs of quarry-faced roughback limestone from B.G. Hoadley Quarries (Bloomington, IN), otherwise used as scrap materials, cut into 2 ¼ in.- high blocks of varying length form much of the tower's exterior.
- 1,200 chair legs manufactured by the Jasper Chair Company (Jasper, IN) arranged in an intricate geometric pattern form a decorative ceiling above the central lounges.
- Vitrified clay pipes serve as 18 column covers located throughout the Center while clay A-blocks, typically used in firing kilns, now line the walls of the central lounges. Both are manufactured by Can Clay Corporation (Cannelton, IN).
- Solid aluminum ingot ends donated from Alcoa Warrick Operations (Newburgh, IN) are used as eight 2,300-pound benches placed throughout the interior.
“The building’s new spaces and wide range of multiple vistas provide many inviting opportunities for congregation and interaction by student and faculty,” says Malcom Holzman, FAIA, partner at Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture. “By combining new and reclaimed materials and incorporating regional references in unexpected ways, our goal was to create moments of discovery throughout the structure to develop a sense of connectivity fueled by shared experience.”
An amalgamation of regional resources, the University Center expansion will be opening on March 3, 2011, with an opening ceremony and open house.
