Architects Who Have Worked In Columbus, Indiana

According to The Chicago Tribune, Columbus rivals major cities as a “mecca” for fans of Eero Saarinen, Harry Weese, Kevin Roche, I.M. Pei, and other legendary designers. You can see the work of seven American Institute of Architects Gold Medal winners. Below is a list of the architects and architectural firms that have worked in Columbus, Indiana.

Ainge, Gary M.

Gary Ainge was one of the principal architects for the Irwin Union Bank and Trust Company Eastbrook Branch renovation and is a principal of Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge, which designed the Breeden Realtors/Century 21 building. Ainge has lectured or participated in symposia or juries at the University of Notre Dame; the University of Illinois at Chicago; the University of Milwaukee; and the Chicago Architectural Club. His firm focuses on institutional, religious, commercial, resort, residential, and urban design.

Barnes, Edward Larrabee

Edward Larrabee Barnes designed W.D. Richards Elementary School. Although he designed many buildings for institutions – religious, business, municipal – he created warm and inviting structures. Painstaking with details, Barnes used geometrical patterns to organize the spaces in his buildings without inhibiting them. He graduated from Harvard, taught at the Pratt Institute in New York and Yale University.

Bassett, Edward Charles

Edward Charles Bassett designed the Columbus City Hall He worked for Saarinen & Saarinen from 1950-55 and joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for the remainder of his career. Bassett designed many award-winning buildings that have had significant influence in San Francisco and around the world. He was in the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.

Beeby, Thomas H.

Thomas H. Beeby, along with Gary M. Ainge, designed Century 21 Breeden Realtors Beeby has been honored with four American Institute of Architects National Design Awards and three Progressive Architecture National Design Awards. Beeby teaches design at the Yale School of Architecture and was dean of the School from 1985 until 1992. He also served as director of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1980 to 1985. The goals of his work have been described as equality between the function of construction and the more ornamental romanticism. As principal in charge of design with his own firm, he oversees the planning and design of a variety of projects including Chicago’s Harold Washington Library Center and the Hole-in-the-Wall-Gang Camp in Connecticut.

Berke, Deborah

New York architect Deborah Berke designed the Hope Library and the former Irwin Union Bank branch near 10th Street on the east side of Columbus. She seems to be as much at home designing an original building as she is renovating existing interior and exteriors. Berke has a minimalist method to Modernism and her work is stylistically diverse. She’s been the inspiration for museum exhibits and the recipient of architectural accolades. She’s the chairman of the board of advisers for Columbia University’s Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture, a trustee of the Design Trust for Public Space, and Dean of the Yale School of Architecture.

Bingham, Nolan

Nolan G. Bingham currently has his own firm. He was a principal with Jim Paris at Paris/Bingham Partnership, who together designed the addition to Fire Station No. 1 Bingham’s Columbus designs include the addition to the First Christian Church, the Ivy Tech State College facility, and the addition to the Mt. Healthy Elementary School. He served as consultant to Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects during the Pence Place Apartments construction and was the local owner contact and consultant for Thompson and Rose Associates during the construction for the Bartholomew County Veterans Memorial. Nolan received his architectural education from Ball State University.

Birkerts, Gunnar

Raised in Lativa, Gunnar Birkerts received his architectural education from Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart, Germany. When he moved to the United States, he initially worked for Perkins & Will, Eero Saarinen and Minoru Yamasaki, before opening his own practice in Birmingham, Michigan and teaching at the University of Michigan. He currently maintains an architectural office in Wellesley, MA. Gunnar Birkerts designed the Lincoln Elementary School, now known as Lincoln Signature Academy, which was dedicated with first lady “Lady Bird” Johnson in 1967, and St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, completed in 1988.

Curtis, Jack

Visit a page dedicated to landscape designer Jack Curtis at The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

Fletcher, Norman

Norman Fletcher’s work in Columbus includes Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation Administration Building, Four Seasons Retirement Center and Parkside Elementary School He has worked for prominent firms Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Saarinen, Swanson & Associates; and founded, with several other architects, The Architects’ Collaborative. He has been the vice president of the Boston Society of Architects and lives in a residential development called Six Moon Hill, which was designed by the collaborative.

Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects

Gwathmey, Siegel & Associates Architects’ Columbus works include Pence Place Apartments and Sycamore Place Apartments The firm has 100 design awards, including several American Institute of Architects Awards of Merit and Distinguished Architecture Awards, Building Magazine’s Modernization Awards and the New York Construction News Institutional Project of the Year. The firm has been included in exhibitions and histories of contemporary architecture. In 1982 it became the youngest firm to that date to receive the AIA’s highest honor, the Firm Award.

Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer

Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates designed the Cummins Occupational Health Association (in transition) and the Mt. Healthy Elementary School The firm is known for public use buildings and contributed to the development of distinctly American architecture. Areas of influence included sustainability, urban planning, historic rehabilitation, adaptive reuse and educational and cultural planning.

Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum

Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum designed the Foundation for Youth and renovated the Cummins Engine Company Technical Center With offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia, the firm specializes in aviation, commercial, corporate, science and technology and transportation structures, among others. Recognition has included the American Institute of Architects Award for Architecture, Top 10 Green Projects from the AIA Committee on the Environment and the British Council of Offices Awards, Best of the Best – Best Workplace Across All Categories.

Hisaka, Don M.

Don M. Hisaka’s was the architect for the Bartholomew County Jail Hisaka has design projects on several continents and has been recognized with numerous architecture awards, including the Cleveland Arts Prize, the Cornerstone Award and a Progressive Architecture National Citation. He is known for creating buildings that complement, rather than overwhelm, their surroundings. He taught at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design for many years.

Iwamoto, Lisa

IwamotoScott was selected to design the new Ivy Tech building. which opened May 2022. Design principal Lisa Iwamoto became Chair of Architecture in December 2021 at the University of California Berkeley, where she has taught since 2001. She has taught previously at the University of Michigan, Harvard University, Cornell University, Sydney University, and Southern California Institute of Architecture.

Johansen Bennett Architects

John M. Johansen designed Smith Elementary School and his son Christen designed the addition to the school. The John Johansen website says: Mid-Century Modern Architectural Pioneer John M Johansen FAIA (1916 – 2012) created award-winning, controversial architecture for over 70 years. Last of the famed “Harvard Five” and widely recognized as one of America’s most innovative modern architects, Johansen drew upon his inquisitive mind, passionate drive and integrative sense of design, always utilizing cutting edge materials and technologies, to produce extraordinary architecture.

Kennon, Kevin

Kevin Kennon Architects was founded in 2002, after leaving as a design partner at Kohn, Pederson, & Fox Associates, P.C. As a founding principal of United Architects, Kevin Kennon was a finalist in the 2002 World Trade Center Design Competition. In Columbus, he designed the Columbus Learning Center near the Columbus air park. He has received over thirty design awards, including ten from the American Institute of Architects, the Architectural League Young Architects Award, and the Progressive Architecture Award. He has taught at Yale University, Princeton University, the Cooper Union, and Columbia University and has lectured at Princeton, Yale, Rice, University of Houston, Amherst College, and the Architectural League of New York.

Kennon, Paul

Paul Kennon’s work in Columbus includes Fodrea Community School, Irwin Union Bank & Trust Company State Street Branch, AT&T Switching Station, and Streetscape Kennon has designed buildings throughout the world, worked with Eero Saarinen and for the firm of Caudill, Rowlett, Scott, where he became design principal and later president. He was elected to the American Institute of Architects, one of the profession’s highest honors.

Kiley, Dan

Visit the page dedicated to the multiple landscape design projects by Dan Kiley in Columbus

Kim, Susie

Susie Kim led the 2007 master plan for the Columbus downtown redevelopment, and was a co-designer for the new Commons the Jackson Street Parking Garage, and the Commons Office building for Cummins. Susie is a fellow in the Institute of Urban Design. She has been a visiting professor and design critic at Harvard, MIT, Carneign Mellon, and RISD, receiving her architectural education from Cornell University and Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Koetter, Fred

A founding principal of Koetter Kim and Associates, an internationally recognized firm focusing on Architecture and Urban Design. Among his diverse professional accomplishments, Fred was involved in the major urban design project of revitalization of London’s docklands area at Canary Wharf and developed renewal designs for a number of U.S. cities. KKA was recommended by Cesar Pelli to create the 2007 master plan for the Columbus downtown redevelopment, including becoming the lead designer for the new Commons, the Jackson Street Parking Garage, and the Commons Office building for Cummins. Fred served as Dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University from 1993- 1998 and taught at Cornell, Harvard, and Kentucky. He received his B. Arch from the University of Oregon and M.Arch from Cornell University.

Leers, Andrea

Andrea Leers is principal and co-founder with Jane Weinizapfel, of Leers Weinzapfel Associates, a Boston-based practice, the first female-owned firm to receive the AIA “Firm of the Year,” in 2007. Leers Weinzapfel Associates was selected to design the additions to Northside Middle School and Schmitt Elementary School in 1990. Leers holds an undergraduate degree in art history from Wellesley College, and a Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts. She is former Director of the Master in Urban Design Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and has taught at Yale University’s School of Architecture, The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts, the University of Virginia School of Architecture, and Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Meier, Richard

Richard Meier designed the Clifty Creek Elementary School During his entire career, Meier has disregarded popular trends of modern architecture and asserted his own design philosophy. In 1998, he received the Pritzker Architecture Prize and a year earlier was the recipient of the AIA Gold Medal. He worked with a series of architects after graduation from Cornell University, including Skimore, Owings and Merrill and Marcel Breuer.

Noyes, Eliot

Eliot Noyes designed Southside Elementary School which was constructed in 1969. He worked for the firm of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer and later was the director of the Department of Industrial Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Noyes worked as consultant design director for IBM for over twenty years, and was the creator of the IBM Selectric typewriter, along with numerous other products. Noyes was commissioned in 1956 to create IBM’s first corporate-wide design program — this work, in collaboration with Paul Rand and Charles Eames, is considered the first comprehensive design program in American business.

Paris, James

In 2005 Jim Paris retired from the practice of Paris/Bingham Partnership. He is currently limiting his designs to residences for friends. The Columbus designs led by Jim Paris include the Bartholomew County Public Library addition, the addition to Fire Station No. 1, the Senior Center renovation, the new Home Federal Savings and Loan, and many private residences. He served as a consultant to Don M. Hisaka during the Bartholomew County Jail construction, and was the facilities architect for Columbus City Hall.

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

I.M. Pei designed the Bartholomew County Library/Cleo Rogers Memorial Library, which was built in 1969. Pei is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. Born in China, he studied architecture at MIT and Harvard, then worked as a concrete designer for Stone and Webster, then worked for Hugh Asher Stubbins. He also taught at Harvard before joining Webb & Knapp in New York. He founded his own architectural office in 1960.

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

Cesar Pelli designed the original Commons and the Advanced Manufacturing Center The new Commons was designed and rebuilt to repurpose the original Pelli structure. He has designed buildings on three continents and has earned the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. He also has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects for one of the Top Ten Green Buildings in 2004. From 1977-84, he was dean of the Yale University School of Architecture.

Polshek Partnership Architects

James Stewart Polshek designed the Columbus Regional Hospital Mental Health Center, built in 1972 (and currently in transition), which was prominently featured in the COLUMBUS movie The Polshek Partnership is best known for its renovations and expansions of public buildings, including cultural, educational, governmental and scientific institutions. Awards include the American Institute of Architects Firm Award, the National Honor Award for Architecture, the National Honor Award for Interiors and a National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Polshek served 15 years as the dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Polshek was awarded the AIA Gold Medal in 2017, read about it on Curbed.

William Rawn Associates Architects Inc

William Rawn Associates, founded in 1983, designed Fire Station No. 6 which was built in 1998. The Boston firm has been recognized with eight honor awards from the American Institute of Architects and has won more than 50 total awards in recent years. Projects range from large-scale, complex plans from performing arts facilities to affordable housing.

Risting, Steve

Owner of atelierRISTING, Steve Risting has practiced architecture in Indiana for over 25 years and been recognized for design excellence with numerous project awards. He has designed or collaborated on the designs of several projects in Columbus, including St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, The “new” Commons, and several of the downtown redevelopment projects. Risting received his architectural education from Iowa State University and Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and has taught architectural design at Ball State University.

Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates

Kevin Roche is known as an innovator and problem solver. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and once he immigrated to America he worked extensively with John Dinkeloo and Eero Saarinen. Roche’s works in Columbus include the U.S. Post Office, the Cummins Columbus Engine Plant Renovation and Expansion, Cummins Corporate Office Building, Cummins Midrange Engine Plant, Irwin Union Bank & Trust Arcade, Irwin Union Central Office Addition, Irwin Union Capital Corporation Renovation and the Columbus Area Visitors Center Expansion and Renovation. When Saarinen died, Roche and Dinkeloo completed the 10 major projects underway, including the St. Louis Arch, the TWA Terminal at JFK International Airport in New York, Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., Deere and Company Headquarters in Moline, Illinois, and the CBS Headquarters in New York. See all of Columbus buildings by Kevin Roche.

Saarinen, Eero

Eero Saarinen was a Finnish-American architect. His works in Columbus include Miller House, Irwin Union Bank and The LEX (formerly North Christian Church) The son of architect Eliel Saarinen, he studied with his father and came to prominence in 1948 with his competition-winning design for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. He also designed interiors and furniture in the same simple, curving style as his exteriors.

Saarinen, Eliel

Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen designed the First Christian Church of Columbus and it was built in 1942. It was the first church of modern architecture in the U.S. Saarinen initially became famous for his Art Nouveau buildings in the early 20th Century. Not only did he design buildings, he also designed the Finnish markka bank notes, introduced in 1922. Saarinen designed, became president of and taught at the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Robert A M Stern Architects

Robert A. M. Stern Architects renovated and designed a master plan for Columbus Regional Hospital Stern graduated from the Yale School of Architecture and returned as its dean 34 years later. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and has hosted a PBS television series, “Pride of Place: Building the American Dream” and his book, “New York 1930” was nominated for the National Book Award.

Saitowitz, Stanley

Architect and Sculptor Stanley Saitowitz designed nine structures for the challenging Mill Race Park project, which teamed him with noted Landscape Architect Michael Van Valkenburgh. Saitowitz is a professor of architecture at Berkeley. His awards include the American Institute of Architects Henry Bacon Medal for Memorial Architecture and the Boston Society of Architects Harleston Parker Award.

Thompson and Rose Architects

Thompson & Rose Architects won an invited competition for the design of the Bartholomew County Veterans Memorial The principals, Maryann Thompson and Charles Rose, have since branched into separate firms. Thompson attended Harvard University Graduate School of Design and earned master’s degrees in architecture and landscape architecture. She has taught at Harvard and MIT. Rose also attended Harvard for a master’s in architecture and courses in landscape architecture. He has taught at Harvard, MIT, the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan.

Torre, Susana

Argentinian Susana Torre designed Fire Station No. 5 which was built in 1987. She served briefly as director for the Cranbrook Art Academy and also headed the architecture and environmental design department at the Parsons School of Design in New York. She was also director of the Barnard College Architecture Program and an associate professor at Columbia University.

Venturi, Robert

Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. is founding principal of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and a major figure in the architecture of the twentieth century. He design Fire Station 4 in 1967 in Columbus. Brown and his wife, Denise Scott Brown, helped to shape the way that we experience and think about architecture and the built environment. Venturi was awarded the Pritzker Prize in Architecture in 1991 and is also known for coining the maxim “Less is a bore,” a postmodern antidote to Mies van der Rohe’s famous modernist dictum “Less is more”. Venturi lives in Philadelphia with Denise Scott Brown.

John Carl Warnecke & Associates

John Carl Warnecke designed Mabel McDowell Adult Education Center It was built in 1960. Warnecke became a nationally and internationally famed architect for the design of copious architecture structures, including President John F. Kennedy’s gravesite at Arlington, the pedestrian mall in front of the White House, the Hawaiian State Capitol Building and the American Embassy in Thailand. After earning his bachelor of arts from Stanford University, he completed Harvard University’s three-year architectural program in one year. His firm continues to be recognized for its award-winning designs.

Weese, Ben

A native of Chicago and the younger brother of Harry Weese, Ben received his B.Arch. and M.Arch. from Harvard University and a certificate from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Fountainebleau, France. From 1957-1977 he worked at Harry Weese Associates and was a member of the “Chicago Seven” in the 1970s. In 1977, he established his own firm, Weese Seeger Hickey Weese, with his wife, later becoming Weese Langley Weese, best known for non-profit and educational projects with an emphasis on historical appreciation and preservation. Two of the several Columbus projects that Ben collaborated with his brother include the Hope and State Street branch banks.

Weese, Cynthia

A founding partner of Weese Langley Weese, Cynthia Weese taught widely before becoming Dean of the School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis from 1993-2005. While practicing, Weese was a visiting critic at a number of universities. She also lectured widely and served on many competition and awards juries. She served on the visiting committee for the MIT School of Architecture and Planning and on the editorial advisory board of the Harvard Design Magazine. She worked at Harry Weese & Associates from 1972-1974.

Weese, Harry

Harry Weese has many projects in Columbus: COSCO, Inc. Office Building, Cummins Engine Company Technical Center, Dorel Inc. Office Building, First Baptist Church, Hamilton Center, Irwin Union Bank & Trust Company Eastbrook Branch and Hope Branch, Northside Middle School, Otter Creek Clubhouse and Lillian C. Schmitt Elementary School. He was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1961, has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, and has served on many blue-ribbon panels for architecture, urban planning and the fine arts.

Weinzapfel, Jane

A founding principal of Leers Weinzapfel Associates (LWA), the first female-owned firm to receive the AIA “Firm of the Year,” in 2007. Leers Weinzapfel Associates was selected to design the additions to Northside Middle School and Schmitt Elementary School in 1990. Jane received her architectural degree from the University of Arizona and was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome in 2002.

Albright, Harrison

Architect Harrison Albright designed the original Senior Center, which was located on the White River in downtown Columbus. Built in 1901, the structure’s original use was as a power plant, so it is sited near the White and Driftwood rivers. Renovated in 1976 with James Paris as the architect, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site has been renovated again to become Upland Brewing Columbus.

Bowers, Leighton

Leighton Bowers designed the much noted Fire Station #1, a blend of Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. Bowers was an architect in Fort Wayne until 1933, when he moved to Indianapolis to serve the State of Indiana as an architect.

Hodgson, Isaac

Isaac Hodgson designed the Bartholomew County Courthouse, which was built in 1874. The project is a Second Empire architectural style, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It has had renovation and additions in 1969 and 1998, headed by Sieco, Inc. Architectural and Engineering Consultants and Charles J. Budd, respectively.

Perkinson, James

John V. Storey, prominent Columbus businessman, hired local contractor James V. Perkinson to build what is now the Columbus Area Visitors Center. The original house was built in 1864.

Sparrell, Charles F.

Charles F. Sparrell designed the former Arvin Industries Company Headquarters, the Columbus Inn, the Irwin Union Capital Corporation and the Prall Home. Learn more about Charles Sparrell.