L. Frances Smith Elementary
John M. Johansen
Parkside Elementary
Norman Fletcher
Schmitt Elementary, addition
Leers, Weinzapfel

The Cummins Foundation

[ Go to photos of the projects ]

The History

The Cummins Foundation was created in 1954, 35 years after Cummins was founded. It was one of the early corporate foundations and is part of the global giving arm of Cummins Inc. It makes grants primarily in Cummins’ plant communities around the world and for projects that engage Cummins employees.

Investing in a vibrant and economically viable community in our headquarters location of Columbus, Indiana, has long been an important objective for Cummins. This vision started with Cummins’ former Chairman and CEO J. Irwin Miller.

Mr. Miller, who had a lifelong interest in architecture, understood that Cummins’ success in retaining the best and brightest employees was closely tied to the company’s ability to attract this talent to Columbus. He wanted to help the community by providing an alternative to the standard, but uninspired, school buildings being built at a rapid pace across the U.S. in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in order to meet the demand created by the baby boom. Thus, in 1957, the Cummins Foundation made its first grant to support architecture fees, for the Lillian C. Schmitt Elementary School, designed by Harry Weese.

The Architecture Program became a formal part of the Cummins Foundation in 1960 with a grant for Northside Middle School. It began with schools, but later grew to encompass all facilities in the county owned and operated by public tax dollars. Mr. Miller once captured the spirit of the program with this statement:

“Every one of us lives and moves all his life within the limitations, sight, and influence of architecture – at home, at school, at church and at work. The influence of architecture with which we are surrounded in our youth affects our lives, our standards, our tastes when we are grown, just as the influence of the parents and teachers with which we are surrounded in our youth affects us as adults. American architecture has never had more creative, imaginative practitioners than it has today. Each of the best of today’s architects can contribute something of lasting value to Columbus.”

The program has become a major economic asset to the worldwide headquarters for Cummins Inc. More than 50 projects have been sponsored by the Cummins Foundation and numerous other significant works of architecture in the community have been privately commissioned. The resulting partnership between private and corporate resources devoted to design has created a critical mass of buildings that have captured national and international attention, attracting 40,000 to 50,000 visitors each year.

Mission

The mission of the program is to encourage architectural excellence in Bartholomew County. The Foundation’s grants will continue to contribute to the unique role excellence in architecture plays as a cornerstone of the quality of life in our headquarters community.

Purpose

The Cummins Foundation will recommend architects and provide funds for the design portion of the architect fees for selected public projects to encourage architectural excellence in Bartholomew County.

How the Program Works

A qualified community entity completes the Project Qualification Form, which details the scope of the project, building purpose, budget, and other key details. Qualified entities include those which are owned and operated by public tax dollars (e.g., school board, the city, county government, etc.). The form is then submitted to the Cummins Columbus Committee representative and reviewed by the Cummins Architecture Program Core Team.

If the project is appropriate and meets the qualifications under the Architecture Program, the core team will make a recommendation on funding to The Cummins Foundation Board of Directors at the next foundation board meeting. The Foundation board will then vote on the request.

The core team will generate a list of architects, which is given to the requesting community entity. A core team representative will meet with the community entity and offer to help facilitate the architect selection using Six Sigma tools. Upon completion of the selection process, Cummins will provide funds for the design portion of the architect fees. The design architect will select and partner with a regionally-based production architect to construct the building. The fees of the production architect are the responsibility of the community entity. The Architecture Program may, at its discretion, pay for a project consultant to ensure that the design vision is appropriately executed timely and on budget.

It is important to note that the ultimate selection of the architectural team is up to the client – the community entity. While Cummins is available to facilitate the process if requested, the final decision resides with the community. The chosen architectural team should understand that the community is the client, not The Cummins Foundation.
A new list of architects is generated for each project. No permanent list is maintained. The method for developing a list is kept confidential to maintain the integrity of the process.

We will continue to make changes as necessary to ensure that architectural excellence in Bartholomew County continues as an important part of the development, prosperity and vitality of the community.

Cummins Foundation Project List

Projects commissioned under the Cummins Foundation Architecture Program for which architect’s fees were paid, in order by the year the award was granted

1957
Lillian C. Schmitt Elementary School
Harry Weese
1960
Mabel McDowell Adult Education Center
John Carl Warnecke
1961
Northside Middle School
Harry Weese
1962
Parkside Elementary School
Norman Fletcher
1963
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Administration Building
Norman Fletcher
1964
Otter Creek Golf Course
Robert Trent Jones
1964
Otter Creek Clubhouse
Harry Weese
1965
W.D. Richards Elementary
Edward Larrabee Barnes
1967
Four Seasons Retirement Center
Norman Fletcher
1967
Fire Station No. 4
Venturi & Rauch
1967
Lincoln Elementary School
Gunnar Birkerts
1969
L. Frances Smith Elementary
John M. Johnson
1969
Southside Elementary School
Eliot Noyes
1970
Columbus Post Office
Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo
1972
Par 3 Clubhouse
Bruce Adams
1972
Mt. Healthy Elementary
Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer
1972
Quinco Consulting Center (now Columbus Regional Health Mental Health Services)
James Stewart Polshek
1972
Columbus East High School
Mitchell-Giurgola
1973
Fodrea Community School
Paul Kennon, Truitt Garrison
1981
Columbus City Hall
Edward Charles Bassett
1982
Sycamore Place Apartments
Gwathmey Siegel & Associates
1982
Clifty Creek Elementary School
Richard Meier & Associates
1984
Pence Place Apartments
Gwathmey Siegel & Associates
1987
Fire Station No. 5
Susanna Torre
1989
FlatRock-Hawcreek Elementary
Taft Architects
1990
Bartholomew County Jail
Don Hisaka
1990
Parkside Elementary School – addition
Norman Fletcher
1990
Streetscape – Phase 1
CRSSirrine, Inc.
1992
Schmitt Elementary School, addition
Leers, Weinzapfel
1992
Northside Middle School, addition
Leers, Weinzapfel
1992
Mill Race Park, renovation
Michael Van Valkenburgh and Stanley Saitowitz
1992
Bartholomew County Hospital, expansion
Robert A. M. Stern
1993
Bartholomew County Courthouse Square
Michael Van Valkenburgh
1993
Streetscape – Phase 2
CRSSirine, Inc. & Stanley Saitowitz
1997
Bartholomew County Veterans Memorial
Thompson & Rose
1997
Otter Creek Golf Course, expansion
Rees Jones
1997
W. D. Richards Elementary School, addition
Edward Larrabee Barnes
1997
Smith Elementary School, addition
John M. Johansen
1998
Clifty Creek Elementary School, addition
Stamberg & Aferiat
1998
Bartholomew County Library, Hope Branch
Deborah Berke
1998
Woodside Fire Station No. 6
William Rawn Associates
1998
Columbus East High School gym, addition
Mitchell-Giurgola
rolls of blueprints<br />
1998
Solid Waste District Board, landfill
William Johnson
1999
Pence Place Apartments, renovation
Gwathemy Siegel & Associates
2000
Central Middle School
Perkins & Will
2002
Mill Race Center
William Rawn Associates
rolls of blueprints
2006
Eighth Street Roundabout Landscape
Michael Van Valkenburgh
rolls of blueprints
2006
Urban Design Plan
Koetter Kim Associates
2007
4th Street Parking Garage
Koetter Kim Associates
2008
Mill Race Center Landscape
Michael Van Valkenburgh
2008
The Commons
Koetter Kim Associates
2009
Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
IwamotoScott - Ivy Tech, Columbus, Indiana

2022
Ivy Tech Community College
IwamotoScott

More info on the Ivy Tech project
More info at IwamotoScott

Project Credits
Principals : Lisa lwamoto / Craig Scott
Project Team : Jake Gelfand, Megan Gill, Htet Hlaing, Andrew
Minnich, Cat McCall, Robert Tranter, Megan Gill,
Celia Chaussabel, Shirley Chen, Ava Nourbarian
Executive Architect : CSO Architects
Landscape Architect : Context Landscape Architecture
General Contractor : Pepper Construction

airport tower - Columbus, Indiana

IN PROGRESS
Airpark Tower Project
Announced Sep, 2023

Firms have been shortlisted to submit proposals to design a new air traffic control tower for the Columbus municipal airport, the fourth-busiest airport in Indiana. The firms on the shortlist are : SO – IL / studio: indigenous / Höweler + Yoon / Snow Kreilich Architects / Marlon Blackwell Architects

More info at The Architect’s Newspaper.

Shown – existing air control tower

List of
Past Projects

Projects commissioned under the Cummins Foundation Architecture Program for which architect’s fees were paid:

( dates indicate year of award, not completion date )

1957 / Lillian C. Schmitt Elementary School / Harry Weese

1960 / Mabel McDowell Adult Education Center / John Carl Warnecke

1961 / Northside Middle School / Harry Weese

1962 / Parkside Elementary School / Norman Fletcher

1963 / Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Administration Building / Norman Fletcher

1964 / Otter Creek Golf Course / Robert Trent Jones

1964 / Otter Creek Clubhouse / Harry Weese

1965 / W.D. Richards Elementary School / Edward Larrabee Barnes

1967 / Four Seasons Retirement Center / Norman Fletcher

1967 / Fire Station No. 4 / Venturi & Rauch

1967 / Lincoln Elementary School / Gunnar Birkerts

1969 / L. Frances Smith Elementary School / John M. Johnson

1969 / Southside Elementary School / Eliot Noyes

1970 / Columbus Post Office / Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo

1972 / Par 3 Clubhouse / Bruce Adams

1972 / Mt. Healthy Elementary School / Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer

1972 / Quinco Consulting Center / James Stewart Polshek

1972 / Columbus East High School / Mitchell-Giurgolaelli Architects

1973 / Fodrea Community School / Paul Kennon, Truitt Garrison

1981 / Columbus City Hall / Edward Charles Bassett

1982 / Sycamore Place Apartments / Gwathmey Siegel & Associates

1982 / Clifty Creek Elementary School / Richard Meier & Associates

1984 / Pence Place Apartments / Gwathmey Siegel & Associates

1987 / Fire Station No. 5 / Susanna Torre

1989 / FlatRock-Hawcreek Elementary School / Taft Architects

1990 / Bartholomew County Jail / Don Hisaka

1990 / Parkside Elementary School, addition / Norman Fletcher

1990 / Streetscape – Phase 1 / CRSSirrine, Inc.

1992 / Schmitt Elementary School, addition / Leers, Weinzapfel

1992 / Northside Middle School, addition / Leers, Weinzapfel

1992 / Mill Race Park, renovation / Michael Van Valkenburgh and Stanley Saitowitz

1992 / Bartholomew County Hospital, expansion / Robert A. M. Stern

1993 / Bartholomew County Courthouse Square / Michael Van Valkenburgh

1993 / Streetscape – Phase 2 / CRSSirine, Inc. & Stanley Saitowitz

1997 / Bartholomew County Veterans Memorial / Thompson & Rose

1997 / Otter Creek Golf Course, expansion / Rees Jones

1997 / W. D. Richards Elementary School, addition / Edward Larrabee Barnes

1997 / Smith Elementary School, addition / John M. Johansen

1998 / Clifty Creek Elementary School, addition / Stamberg & Aferiat

1998 / Bartholomew County Library, Hope Branch / Deborah Berke

1998 / Columbus – Woodside Fire Station No. 6 / William Rawn Associates

1998 / Columbus East High School gym, addition / Mitchell-Giurgola

1998 / Solid Waste District Board, landfill / William Johnson

1999 / Pence Place Apartments, renovation / Gwathemy Siegel & Associates

2000 / Central Middle School / Perkins & Will

2002 / Mill Race Center / William Rawn Associates

2006 / 8th Street Roundabout Landscape / Michael Van Valkenburgh

2006 / Urban Design Plan / Koetter Kim Associates

2007 / 4th Street Parking Garage / Koetter Kim Associates

2008 / Mill Race Center Landscape / Michael Van Valkenburgh

2008 / The Commons / Koetter Kim Associates

2009 / Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence / Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

2022 / Ivy Tech Community College / IWAMOTOSCOTT (expected completion, 2022)

Related Pages

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