Irwin Mortgage Headquarters, Fishers, Indiana (2001-2003)
The building program called for a 120,000 sq. ft. facility to consolidate all of the company’s executive and clerical offices, storage and mailing services. The selected site faces Interstate 69, a busy interstate highway that links Indianapolis with Fort Wayne, providing critical access and visibility – much-desired advantages sought by the company’s relocation. The need to utilize the building as a physical advertisement for the company was a request from day one. To achieve this billboard-like legibility, the office building was placed perpendicular to Interstate 69, magnifying longitudinal exposure to both traffic lanes. This positioning of the building also maximizes vital exposures to north and south orientations. Centered on a median island, the four-story building bisects the eight-acre property, creating two equal parking zones and entrances to the main lobby. The central core / open plan layout allows for an interchangeable placement of workstations on either side of each floor plate. The window pattern is a syncopation of transparency and opacity repeated throughout each floor, providing singular views from any point in the interior, and animating the exterior elevations. To echo a similar effect, two types of pre-cast concrete panels of different color and aggregate are used throughout the building’s elevations.
