The Pyramids are three pyramid-shaped office buildings that are part of a 200 acres (809,372 m²) commercial development in College Park, Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, USA. The structures occupy 45 acres (182,108.7 m²) of land situated next to a 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) lake. They were constructed between 1967 and 1972 by the College Life Insurance Company using a design by famed architect Kevin Roche

Kevin Roche

Kevin Roche is an Irish-American architect known for his creative work with glass.Born in Dublin, Roche spent his formative years in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork before he graduated from University College Dublin in 1945. He then worked with Michael Scott from 1945-1946...

. They are noted for their abstract quality of the opacity of the concrete walls which face the nearby highway and the reflectivity of the glass curtain walls that face the landscaped grounds.

History

In the 1960s the College Life Insurance Company was rapidly expanding and sought to accommodate its growing staff while providing for anticipated expansion. It decided on a plan by Kevin Roche consisting of nine identical office towers each eleven stories tall and each containing 120000 square feet (11,148.4 m²). This would permit it to build towers as it needed additional office space without leaving buildings idle or underused. Only the initial three towers were constructed and take the form of pyramids. In the late 1990s the site was re-landscaped and further construction of towers appears unlikely.

Since they were originally constructed, the College Life Insurance Company has left the buildings and they are now owned by Cassidy Turley Commercial Realty Services, which rents space to various businesses in the Indianapolis area. The Art Institute of Indianapolis

The Art Institute of Indianapolis

The Art Institute of Indianapolis is one of The Art Institutes, a system of more than 40 educational institutions located throughout North America, providing education in design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts. Located in the northwest part of Indianapolis at the Pyramids...

 is also located at the Pyramids. They are also noted as being among Roche's best works and contributed to his being awarded the Pritzker Prize

Pritzker Prize

The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...

.

Structure

Each tower is made up of two walls of reinforced concrete from which project the unobstructed office floors. Those concrete walls provide the support for the floors as well as serving as L-shaped service cores. The other two walls are covered in blue exterior glass and each building is connected to the others via underground and above-ground passages. Each pyramid has three cable passenger elevators. The buildings have been described as "abstract" and "sculptural" based on their use of opaque concrete walls facing the nearby highway and reflective blue glass facing the interior lake of the complex.

External links

• The official site of The Pyramids
• The Pyramids at Skyscraper Page
• The Pyramids at Emporis