Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
The new Global and International Studies Building defines an important cultural and academic crossroads at the heart of campus. Home to the new School of Global and International Studies and many of the language, literature and culture studies programs in IU’s College of Arts and Sciences, the new building provides flexible spaces for teaching and learning that extend beyond the classroom to foster collaboration and inter-disciplinary education. Integrated into the sloping topography at the eastern edge of the campus’s historic core, the design fuses building and landscape by framing a new terrace landscape as an extension of public gathering spaces within the building. Compositionally the building’s two wings respond to the unique geometry of the site —one set by the orthogonal grid of the surrounding campus context and one generated by the curvilinear geometry of the arboretum and former velodrome to the west. A three-story glass enclosed volume unifies the building and defines the intersection of movement to and through the building. This monumental gathering space celebrates the University’s longstanding commitment to international studies on campus. Sustainable design principles have informed the design with particular emphasis on the building’s solar orientation and the integration of daylight and views throughout the building. Locally quarried limestone on the building’s exterior continues the campus tradition with accents of vibrant colored stones from around the world making visual reference to the study of global cultures. This rich variety of materials and textures culminates in the interior with a three-story wall of international stones in the central atrium.