Cummins Engine Company Headquarters
Columbus, Indiana · 1983
An aerial precedent for a low-rise corporate headquarters layout, showcasing how a continuous perimeter frame can integrate stepped, diagonal office wings, internal courtyards, and a central reflecting pool.
- What we like about this project
- A standalone rectangular pavilion appears to float directly in the middle of a large reflecting pool.
Materials
- concrete
- glass
- steel
- asphalt
Visual identifiers
- saw-tooth-roof
- perimeter-ring-building
- reflecting-pool
- corporate-campus
- surface-parking
Style tags
- late-modernist
- corporate-modernism
- structuralist-layout
Visual tags
- suburban-headquarters
- horizontal-massing
- stepped-geometry
- courtyard-design
- mid-century-modernism
- Geometry
- A sprawling, low-rise corporate campus organized around a large perimeter ring structure with stepped, saw-tooth diagonal wings projecting inward. A central rectangular pavilion sits isolated within a reflecting pool.
- Facade system
- Continuous ribbon glazing framed by concrete structural bands.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete frame with long-span steel roof trusses.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale corporate headquarters spanning multiple city blocks, designed with low-slung, horizontal massing.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp shadows that accentuate the stepped geometry of the rooflines and building wings.
- Atmosphere
- An orderly, expansive mid-century corporate enclave integrated with green lawns and water.
- Environmental context
- An urban-adjacent corporate campus integrated with extensive surface parking lots, surrounding green space, and a nearby low-rise commercial grid.
- Spatial experience
- The campus layout balances a highly structured, continuous perimeter frame with dynamic, angled interior wings that open onto landscaped courtyards and water features.
- Composition rhythm
- Repeating diagonal stepped bays create a strong saw-tooth rhythm along the inner courtyard.
- Style reading
- Late Modernist corporate architecture
- Program
- Corporate office headquarters
- Perspective
- Aerial/Site
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- concrete, glass, steel, asphalt
- Visual identifiers
- saw-tooth-roof, perimeter-ring-building, reflecting-pool, corporate-campus, surface-parking
- Style tags
- late-modernist, corporate-modernism, structuralist-layout
- Visual tags
- suburban-headquarters, horizontal-massing, stepped-geometry, courtyard-design, mid-century-modernism
- Geometry
- A sprawling, low-rise corporate campus organized around a large perimeter ring structure with stepped, saw-tooth diagonal wings projecting inward. A central rectangular pavilion sits isolated within a reflecting pool.
- Facade system
- Continuous ribbon glazing framed by concrete structural bands.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete frame with long-span steel roof trusses.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale corporate headquarters spanning multiple city blocks, designed with low-slung, horizontal massing.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp shadows that accentuate the stepped geometry of the rooflines and building wings.
- Atmosphere
- An orderly, expansive mid-century corporate enclave integrated with green lawns and water.
- Environmental context
- An urban-adjacent corporate campus integrated with extensive surface parking lots, surrounding green space, and a nearby low-rise commercial grid.
- Spatial experience
- The campus layout balances a highly structured, continuous perimeter frame with dynamic, angled interior wings that open onto landscaped courtyards and water features.
- Composition rhythm
- Repeating diagonal stepped bays create a strong saw-tooth rhythm along the inner courtyard.
- Style reading
- Late Modernist corporate architecture
- Program
- Corporate office headquarters
- Perspective
- Aerial/Site
- Discipline
- architecture