One of Columbus’ renowned architectural gems and Cummins Inc.’s flagship office is being rejuvenated with a two-year, $50 million project that will make it more functional for today’s workplace needs and more inviting for employees.
Just how the Cummins Corporate Office Building (COB), built in 1983 to the design of Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kevin Roche, is being renovated and remodeled was a session topic Wednesday during the 49th annual Preserving Historic Places conference, held for the first time in Columbus.
Sponsored by Indiana Landmarks, the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology and Indiana University, the conference started Tuesday and concludes Friday. A total of 280 people registered, the largest amount ever for the conference, said Suzanne Stanis, director of heritage education and information for Indiana Landmarks said.
About 15 people attended the Cummins session Wednesday morning at the Irwin Conference Center, 500 Washington St. in downtown Columbus. It also included a walking tour of the Phase I renovation area of the COB.
Time for changes
“It’s tired today. It needs some new life,” Brad Manns, Cummins executive director of global integrated services, said of the COB to the attendees.
Cummins announced in July that it would upgrade its global headquarters, at 500 Jackson St. in downtown Columbus, in anticipation of the company’s 100th anniversary in 2019. About 250,000 of the COB’s 385,000 square feet are being renovated, Cummins spokesman Jon Mills said.
About 1,200 work at the COB, which was designed for 700 to 800 employees, Manns said.
Feedback from employees, Manns said, described the COB as:
- Old and dim, and lacking energy
- Not reflecting the company’s family like culture
- Maze-like, and a labyrinth of workstations
“It’s really hard to find your way around the building,” Manns said.
In addition, the use of mirrors throughout the building — a concept to draw in more natural light — creates a fun-house effect that isn’t popular with employees, Manns said.
“The mirrors can make people feel self-conscious. Employees are excited that the company is working to make the space more comfortable,” Manns said.
Based on the company’s needs, RATIO Architects is making changes that balance the legacy of the building with modern needs, said Bill Browne, president of RATIO Architects, Indianapolis.
“We know we need to bring this building into the 21st century,” Browne said.
Improving work space
One of the primary changes is with work and meeting spaces.
The revamped COB will utilize the Smart Office Space concept, which features shared spaces for working, casual settings and small rooms for focus groups or team meetings, Manns said. The COB was originally designed using the concept of cubicle work spaces.
Meeting space also is changing significantly.
“We’re adding over 100 meeting spaces and enclosed spaces than today,” said Sim Nabors, director of interior design for RATIO.
The 115,000 square feet of the COB’s lower level will no longer be used for work space but will be used for meeting space, Nabors said.
About 300 employees have been working in the lower-level space, Manns said.
With the remodeling, all employees’ work spaces will be within 50 feet of meeting spaces, which will vary in size to meet different needs, Nabors said.
More inviting
Additional changes are being made to address natural lighting in the building and providing more access to the courtyard on the building’s east side
“We’re trying to introduce more glass into the building,” Browne said.
Walls of the COB are precast concrete components. Some have larger windows looking outside while others have narrow, ribbon-like windows. The interiors of the walls also have varying sizes of mirrors on them.
The mirrors could be mitigated with a film over them, Nabors said.
The narrow, ribbon-like windows were introduced in the 1977 redesign, a change from the 1972 plans and caused by an oil embargo and a shift to energy-consciousness, Nabors said.
Browne said some walls, including those that surround the courtyard, will be replaced with ones featuring large panes of glass, which will bring in more natural light and allow employees to see outside and enjoy the natural setting.
Doing so also will provide clearer views throughout the interior of the Cerealine Building, which will help orient employees to where they are within the COB, Browne said.
The Cerealine Building was a mill established in 1867 where cornflakes were created. The structure later served as Cummins’ first factory and administrative offices. Roche’s design built the COB around the Cerealine Building.
The Cerealine Building, now used as a cafeteria, is a component of the COB’s courtyard, which also features a water element around it, green space and ivy-covered columns and pergola around the perimeter.
Browne said the idea is to increase access to the courtyard, adding doors in some places that lead directly to it, including an access door from the connector between the COB and Cerealine Building.
“Our goal is to make the park feel more like a public space as well as a corporate space,” Browne said.
The Cerealine connector also will be widened, he said.
The renovation project also will update the company’s museum so that it reflects not just a 1980s engine company, but the future direction of the power company, Manns said.
Browne said the popular “Exploded Engine” artwork will be kept, but could be moved to a different location.
The greatest challenge of the renovation project has been balancing employees’ expectations for it and keeping original design intent, Nabors said.
“This building has a presence and an ego about it. We have to realize how we’re taming that carefully, and still letting it still present itself once the project is completed,” Browne said.
Connie Zeigler, an architectural historian who works at Green 3 Studio in Indianapolis, said she thinks the COB is one of the best buildings in Columbus because its “brutalist” design mixes with the 19th century.
Zeigler said she attended the COB session of the conference because she has an interest in Modern architecture, and wanted to see what the renovation project had in store.
She said she was impressed with the ideas presented.
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Highlights of the Cummins Corporate Office Building renovation project as shared during a Preserving Historic Places conference session Wednesday in Columbus:
- More than 100 meeting and enclosed spaces being added
- Smart Office Space Concept being used, which features flexible work spaces
- More glass windows being added to some walls
- Greater sight lines of Cerealine Building
- Mitigation of mirrors
- Doors being added to allow people to access the courtyard
- Museum being updated
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