IUPUI Campus Center, Part 1: Outside and In

Chris at DIG-B took a look at IUPUI's Campus Center months ago. And he took some great photos, inside and out. I decided to take an up close and personal look after the Indiana weather was fairer. I'm not as courageous as Chris, I guess.

IUPUI has been a commuter college campus until recently when someone figured out that some students wanted to live in the big city with its big city amenities instead of Bloomington, Lafayette, or any of the other small cities of Indiana. The campus has developed with no real conceptual master plan, so as they have added buildings, they have had to look at how to make this more of a "traditional" campus.

Things IUPUI were missing: a landmark structure, a student center, a visitors center, a central place to congregate. The Campus Center is an attempt to combine all of these into one.

From downtown, the new Campus Center does not appear to loom over the campus. In fact, the bell tower gets lost between the trees of Military Park. Though from the White River side of campus, it does stand large.
But as you approach the main entrance at University and Vermont, the tower and the entire building makes grand gestures.
In fact, I think Le Corbusier's Notre Dame du Haut has left its influence on the Campus Center design. Am I alone on this one?

I want to stress that the main entrance is from Vermont, not Michigan. I believe this might be part of a master plan to use Vermont as the meridian of the campus. The orientation of the Campus Center would support this theory. Just a speculation on my part.
There is another entrance on the east side of the building facing University. This is the closest entrance for pedestrians coming from Michigan.
The center as seen from the University Hotel to the northeast. The feature at the corner is known as the "Cube". I'll touch on this more in Part 3.
Access to the Campus Center is also gained via skybridge from Cavanaugh Hall, which until now, was as close to a student center as you could get at IUPUI.
Access is also gained from the adjacent parking garage to the west. While not as open and airy as the other entries, they have included a historical timeline of IUPUI.
Welcome to the Campus Center.
When entering from Vermont Street, you are greeted by the information desk. This is suppose to be the first place that prospective students and their parents go to.
Beyond the desk is the grand hall. The entire east wall is glass, allowing for plenty of natural light.
The interior is open from basement level up to the fourth floor.
Escalators connect every level.
Glass, steel, concrete, and wood creates a modern space that feels like a industrial space converted into lofts or some sort of civic center.
What amazed me is that despite the openness, the large number of students and visitors, and the hard materials used, it wasn't obnoxiously loud.
Overall, the space is very welcoming, open, and alive. It was exciting to be in the Campus Center, I thought. And it looks to be a well used and greatly needed building.

Next up: a look at the amenities, from top to bottom.