By Mukhtar Husain
A city of about 55,000, Columbus, Indiana (not Columbus, Ohio), can rightly boast of its unexpected world-class architecture and unforgettable public art and green spaces.
Located in Bartholomew county, Columbus has been the headquarters of Cummins Inc., (an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures and distributes engines, filtration and power generation products), and has been the beneficiary of the vision and largesse of J. Irwin Miller, industrialist/ philanthropist, and chairman of Cummins Inc. in the 1950s.
Miller started a foundation that funded some of the world’s leading architects to design buildings in Columbus. Consequently, this relatively small mid-western town has seventy buildings designed by noted architects including seven that are National Historic Landmarks in the US, as well as sculptures and artwork created by renowned artists.
These include the following:
First Christian Church – designed by Eliel Saarinen in Year: 1942
Irwin Conference Center -designed by Eero Saarinen in Year: 1954
J. Irwin Miller House -designed by Eero Saarinen in Year: 1957
North Christian Church – designed by Eero Saarinen in Year: 1964
Fire Station 4 – designed by Robert Venturi in Year: 1967
Bartholomew County Library – Designed by I. M. Pei in Year: 1969
Columbus Post Office – designed by Kevin Roche & John Dinkeloo in Year: 1970
Republic Newspaper Offices (former) -designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill in Year: 1971
Irwin Office Building – designed by Kevin Roche in Year: 1972
AT & T Switching Station – designed by Paul Kennon of CRS in Year: 1978
Columbus City Hall – designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill in Year: 1981
Clifty Creek Elementary School – designed by Richard Meier in Year: 1982
Cummins Corporate Office – designed by Kevin Roche in Year: 1983
Veterans Memorial – designed by Thompson & Rose in Year: 1997
Of these, it may be noted that the following architects have been winners of the prestigious Pritzker Prize:
Kevin Roche – 1982
I. M. Pei – 1983
Richard Meier – 1984
Robert Venturi – 1991
Columbus also has outstanding landscapes designed by Dan Kiley and others. And it has works of art (sculptures) by the following:
Large Arch
Henry Moore in 1971
Chaos 1
Jean Tinguely in 1974
Yellow neon Chandelier
Dale Chihuly in 1995
It might be of interest to refresh ourselves about the background of some of the “Columbus Masters”:
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (1873-1950) was a Finnish-American architect known for his work with art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was the father of famed architect Eero Saarinen.
Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.
Robert Charles Venturi Jr.(1925-2018) was an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major architectural figures of the twentieth century.
Ieoh Ming Pei FAIA RIBA (1917-2019) was a Chinese-American architect. Raised in Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the garden villas at Suzhou, the traditional retreat of the scholar-gentry to which his family belonged.
Eamonn Kevin Roche FAIA (1922-2019) was an Irish-born American architect. He was responsible for the design/master planning for over 200 built projects in both the U.S. and abroad.
Roche and his future partner, John Dinkeloo (1918-81), completed Saarinen’s incomplete projects, including the Dulles International Airport terminal building.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm founded in 1936 in Chicago. The firm opened its second office in New York City in 1937 and has since expanded internationally.
Paul Kennon worked with Eero Saarinen as a senior designer on Saarinen’s later projects (1957-1964). In 1964, he became associate professor of architecture at Rice University. In 1966 he became Associate Director of the School of Architecture at Rice. In 1976 he became president of Caudill Rowlett Scott (CRS).
Richard Meier (born 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the colour white.
Daniel Urban Kiley (1912-2004) was an American landscape architect, who worked in the style of modern architecture. Kiley designed over one-thousand landscape projects including the Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis.
Daily tours are available, starting at the Columbus Visitors Center/ Gift shop. Among these, the 90-minute Miller House and Garden Tour is an architectural delight. The Miller House is a one-level mid-century modern home designed by Eero Saarinen for J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller and completed in 1957. Saarinen also designed the TWA Terminal at New York and the Terminal Building at Dulles International Airport (both 1962) and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis (1965).
The 7000 sqft interiors of the Miller House were designed by Alexander Girard. Selected items of furniture were designed by Charles and Ray Eames. The landscaping over 7 acres was designed by Dan Kiley, one of the pioneers of modern landscaping. And architect Kevin Roche, later to become a renowned architect himself, was part of the world-class design team.
Interestingly, Columbus, Indiana has inspired and is also the setting for a beautiful film released in 2017, named Columbus, of course, in which many of the town’s famous Modernist buildings are featured. The interiors of the Miller House are also shown and would appeal to all architects, thanks to the stunning photography by filmmaker Kogonada.
In 1991, the American Institute of Architects rated Columbus sixth on its list of the top 10 American cities for architectural quality. Of the 60 public buildings in Columbus, seven have been classified as National Historic Landmarks, rare for a relatively little-known mid-west town.
mukhtar.husain@gmail.com
