MOBILE MAP STOPS 67 – 72

67 – Parkside School

Norman Fletcher, of the Architects Collaborative, designed the school in 1962 with a series of barrel vaults using wood beams, wood planking, and steel columns, creating an umbrella effect. The same architectural device is repeated in the central section and the barrel vault roof of the gymnasium. The addition in 1990, also by Fletcher, is seamless by using the same style of barrel vaults.

The school is raised on a two-foot podium of earth, with recessed courtyards and play areas, to raise it above the surrounding terrain.

The brick classroom wings feature deep laminated wood beams that project beyond the exterior wall to provide shading to the large windows and clerestory windows below them.

Immediately north of the school, Freedom Field was specially designed to be entirely handicapped accessible, allowing the interaction of physically challenged and able-bodied children and parents.

Take me to Parkside School.

68 – Columbus Learning Center

The Columbus Learning Center is a multi-tenant education facility and community resource center. The design of the two-story building is inspired by the surrounding landscape that contains the simple forms of industrial factories, farmhouses, and silos. The new facility sits between two existing buildings (Ivy Tech Community College and Indiana University Purdue University Columbus) and acts as a bridge between the buildings.

The public front entry is defined with brick walls that reach out like open arms forming an outdoor room to welcome students and the community.

The “silo” near the main entrance houses a one-of-a-kind Chihuly artwork, Sun Garden and Panels, that is open to public viewing, see the next listing. There also are art exhibits throughout the building, the public is welcome to explore the building to view it.

Take me to the Learning Center.

69 – Sun Garden Panels

This is the second public work in Columbus by acclaimed glass artist Dale Chihuly and is unlike any other Chihuly installation. Located inside the “silo” near the front entrance to The Learning Center, it is open to the public and free of charge to view.

Each of the 32 panels was created, painted, and signed by Chihuly. Unlike his glass work, Chihuly painted the panels himself, using twist-top plastic bottles, peppering the panels with polymer-based acrylic colors.

In the artwork, Chihuly interprets several of the forms he developed in blown-glass forms, including his Baskets, Reeds, Ikebana, and Floats.

This installation was commissioned and donated by the Richard Johnson family.

Take me to Chihuly’s Sun Garden Panels

70 – Transformation

Created by artist Howard Meehan, Transformation is a stainless steel sculpture with three pillars of lighted glass and a polished steel ring. The three panes of glass represent life, liberty, and the pursuit of learning, as well as the collaboration between the two colleges nearby and the City of Columbus. The surrounding concrete wall features a quote by Benjamin Disraeli: “A University Must be a Place of Light, of Liberty, and of Learning.”

While here for the dedication, Meehan said, “The benchmark is so high in this little community. I talk to a lot of architects, friends of mind, and they are very envious of me doing a project in this community because it’s such an outstanding place for art and architecture. So I’m very proud to have a piece here, very very proud.”

Take me to Transformation.

71 – Fire Station 2

New listing – information coming soon…

Take me to Fire Station 2.

72 – Advanced Manufacturing Ctr.

The Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence is an education and workforce training center. While in Columbus to dedicate the new building, architect Cesar Pelli said, “I am excited to be designing a building again for Columbus, Indiana; a city that I much admire and love.”

The facility is designed for a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum. With two central outdoor courtyards, the interior is filled with natural light with large perimeter and courtyard windows. The glass is fritted to control heat gain and glare.

The building’s simple steel structure is expressed with the perimeter columns and the roof framing exposed at the overhangs. The silver metal panel exterior and interior walls are not load bearing to allow for flexibility for future needs or technology changes.

Take me to Advanced Manufacturing Center.

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