For over 65 years, the Cummins Foundation has made the small city of Columbus, Indiana, one of the foremost architecture destinations in America. Columbus welcomes an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 visitors each year (nearly equal to the town’s resident population) to see and experience works by Eero Saarinen, Robert Venturi, Deborah Berke, Harry Weese, and other giants of architectural design.

Following a design charrette held last December, San Francisco-based firm IwamotoScott Architecture was chosen to join those ranks by designing an 80,000-square-foot building for Ivy Tech Community College Columbus, the latest project funded by the organization. CSO Architects and Pepper Construction have been selected as the architect of record and contractor, respectively. “The Cummins Foundation is thrilled to welcome the addition of IwamotoScott into Columbus’ design heritage,” said Mary Chandler, vice president of Corporate Responsibility for Cummins and CEO of the Cummins Foundation, in a press statement. “Architecture is woven into the fabric of the Columbus community and is symptomatic of a larger vision—an aspiration to achieve excellence. This is echoed in IwamotoScott’s innovation and collaborative design process, making spaces that are functional, distinctive and beautiful.”

While the Ivy Tech building’s design is currently being altered following the charrette, the $32 million project has been envisioned as a ‘campus-under-one-roof’ that replaces a preexisting building with one filled with accommodations for community building and project-based learning, with an emphasis on fostering careers in technological innovation. A significant majority of the building’s interior will be devoted to double-height public programs on the ground floor, with built-in seating, floor-to-ceiling windows, and shaded outdoor spaces. “We are extremely honored to be selected to design Ivy Tech’s new 21st century home,” wrote Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott, founding partners of IwamotoScott, in a press statement. “IwamotoScott are very excited to continue the engaged stakeholder and community process that defined the initial design charrette, and so proud to be part of such an excellent team. It is a true honor to be able to add to Columbus’s modern architectural heritage.”