Invoking his first impression as a “really, really, ugly” epitaph for the Statesman Towers, I was surprised to hear Dan Bradley, delivering his fall address to ISU, utilize aesthetics to condemn the structures, or spin his personal critique amongst more objective factors. A more fitting eulogy would be that the modern style towers are no longer in an optimum location for housing, which is their highest and best use.
Terre Haute has known that the two towers would be razed since December 2001 when the college Board of Trustees approved its recommendation. Factors beyond aesthetics included floor plates uniquely tailored to housing — too small to be efficiently adapted to office floors or other academic use. Designed in 1966 when energy costs were not yet important to clients, energy upgrades could be accomplished, but the original use and height of the structures apparently no longer fits new campus planning directions.
History will remember The Statesman Towers as the brainchild of ISU’s most productive and award-winning campus planning team, Alan Rankin and Ewing Miller. Make no mistake, the combined vision of this former ISU president and nationally acclaimed architect, as a team, crowned ISU planning and campus architecture during ISU’s most expansive building era, with at least a dozen of their projects still standing proud.
Architecture, just like art and sculpture, is often designed to break tradition and demand comment. ISU’s dorm tower projects are among our best Midwestern examples of a controversial national “architectonic” movement in architecture called “Brutalism”, a style of brutally expressive modernism. Expressing the innovative slip-core concrete structure and the plasticity of the pre-cast skin, the Statesman Towers won awards for innovation and design concept.
The Statesman Towers, originally designed as male dorms, have facades with bolder masculine modeling, while the Sycamore Towers, first designed for just women, sport a more feminine architectonic pre-cast skin — in the words of its designers “with softer and more flowing plasticity.” The Cunningham Library, of the same period, is also outstanding for its horizontal one-story architectonic design and adaptive “form follows function” layout. The epitome of a pragmatic approach to planning and design.
Together, this group of buildings served ISU’s wishes and specific client needs. The Board of Trustees wanted buildings that would bring attention to the Wabash Valley and ISU specifically opted for high-rise structures. ISU and our community were thrilled with the resulting visual impact and statement of prominence. In the words of Ewing H. Miller II, AIA, the architecture was: “handsomely expressive of an era … with a spirit to it that transcends the sort of mundane box with a series of holes.”
Inside the box, this same design team won awards for listening to what both administrators and students wanted. Furnishings were loose and students could finally arrange their own rooms. From programming to move-in the project took three years and just before opening, the housing was allowed to be co-ed.
For some curious reason ISU’s new president felt that the demolition of the Statesman Towers should be included in his 2012 annual address. It is not new news, important news, or newsworthy of a feature editorial. I suspect that Dan was not just exploring how to elicit applause with the simple intonation of his voice, but he was also testing the word “demolish” in front of a large public gathering — posturing for the role that he may ultimately be remembered: demolishing five historic buildings on the 500 Block of Wabash. Sadly, other sites exist which would not demolish outstanding National Register facades.
Historic buildings on Wabash, The National Road, do not deserve demolition, regardless of anyone’s first impressions or any current collegiate needs. They were built to last, in an era when architecture and art were truly synonymous. Unlike the Statesman Towers, the historic buildings on Wabash have not outlived their original purpose or location. Instead, they are highly adaptable to new energy retrofit and will be highly desirable if outfitted as unique storefront retail with upper floor lofts.
Downtown’s classic architecture, its authentic streetscape fabric from The Gilded Age, is what always has, and still can physically and subconsciously distinguish our city’s prominence and regional stature to both visitors and stakeholders. The obvious revitalization potential of the 500 Block should easily trump any total redevelopment notions, and future ISU presidents would never have to speak in public about regrets.
— Ben Orman AIA
Terre Haute
Flashpoint
FLASHPOINT: No mistake about Statesman Towers
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FLASHPOINT: Storm chasers must heed warnings, remember why we chase storms
The tragic death of noted weather researcher and former Discovery Channel storm chaser Tim Samaras has shaken all of us in the meteorological community.
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FLASHPOINT: Humane Society does not merit IRS targeting either
Rep. Blaine Leutkemeyer is right that the IRS should not target any charitable organization solely on the basis of its ideology. Yet that’s exactly what he’s asking the IRS to do in his factually unfounded attacks on The Humane Society of the United States, the nation’s largest animal welfare organization and one that has the highest marks from the top charity watchdog organizations.
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FLASHPOINT: A crisis at the NLRB
Most people in Indiana don’t even know what the National Labor Relations Board is. Well, why should they?
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FLASHPOINT: Legislative session reflected Hoosier priorities
The 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly came to an end just a few weeks ago with the final passage of our state’s next two-year budget.
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FLASHPOINT: A legislative session of missed opportunities
Given the nature of politicians, grand claims of accomplishments and overblown rhetoric about “historic” efforts are to be expected at the close of any legislative session.
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FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
Last year, the people of Indiana entrusted the Republican Party with some of their most precious possessions.
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my children. Every parent has felt that instant, apprehensive rush when their child plays too close to the street or falls down while playing soccer and it is our responsibility as parents to implement every safety mechanism we can muster to protect our kids.
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FLASHPOINT: Lessons from the legacy media — get it right, first
Enough mistakes and maybe we’ll learn: When in doubt, leave it out.
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FLASHPOINT: Hoosiers got steady hand in recent session
As the General Assembly began its work last November, as Speaker of the House, I pledged a renewed spirit of bipartisanship with legislators working together to solve our state’s most pressing challenges. As this year’s legislative session concludes, representatives from throughout the state — Republican and Democrat — have joined together to address those issues at the forefront of Hoosier minds: maintaining our state’s fiscal integrity, spurring job creation and expanding education opportunities for every Hoosier family.
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FLASHPOINT: Time has arrived for overhaul of TV news
Former FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes gave an address in 1992 in which he claimed television news was too superficial and too focused on visuals.
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FLASHPOINT: Fiscal cliff, Obamacare have already raised taxes enough
Our history is rich with stories of people who have immigrated to the United States for a chance at the American Dream. The American Dream, in its truest form, is the opportunity to achieve success by working hard and playing by the rules; to make it on your own and to say, “I earned this.”
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FLASHPOINT: Expanding Medicaid coverage makes sense for Indiana
Since last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act effectively gave states the option to expand Medicaid, policymakers across the country have debated if and how to extend health programs to millions of uninsured Americans.
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FLASHPOINT: Improve public education, stop experimenting with it
In January, the four of us who serve as the Democrats on the House Education Committee outlined our hopes for the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly, particularly in joining with Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz to offer common sense solutions to improve the quality of education for our children. With the halfway point of this session past us, we remain optimistic that positive steps can be taken … but that optimism is tempered by the reality that education policies are being directed by a legislative majority that has a radically different agenda.
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Healthcare law anniversary no reason for celebration
March 23 marked three years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law, yet this is not an anniversary that deserves celebration.
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FLASHPOINT: Defending state’s authority is attorney general’s obligation
The law of the land recognizes the authority of states to license marriage.
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FLASHPOINT: Stability key for state’s future
Hoosiers have the unique luxury of being the fiscal envy of the nation due to the sound fiscal policies of the last eight years.
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FLASHPOINT: House budget offers Medicaid solution for Indiana
This week, my U.S. House Budget Committee colleagues and I introduced a federal budget resolution for fiscal year 2014. Our budget is a responsible plan that stops spending money and balances in 10 years — largely through making key reforms to drivers of our debt like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
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FLASHPOINT: Problem gambling in Indiana: A new understanding of community concern
The week of March 3 was designated as National Problem Gambling Awareness Week.
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FLASHPOINT: Eastern time in Indiana defies common sense
Nobody complains more than Hoosiers about changing their clocks. And there’s a valid reason — daylight-savings time in Indiana’s Eastern Time Zone is painful.
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Praying for civil resolution to debate over gun control
Guns are lively ammunition for passionate debate these days.
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FLASHPOINT: It’s not too late to expand health services
This week, state leaders euthanized the biggest, boldest Hoosier jobs proposal of the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly.
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FLASHPOINT: You can’t go back again — and that’s OK
Our progressive colleagues have been telling us for years that the 1950s were a horrid time.
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FLASHPOINT: The fierce urgency of now — nation needs to protect youth
The alcohol-fueled alleged serial rape of a 16-year-old Ohio girl by two of her similarly impaired classmates — not to mention the drunken videotaped commentary of others — points yet again to the imperative that adult America renews its commitment to address as a true national community those issues that most threaten the health, safety and forward development of youth.
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FLASHPOINT: A pastor speaks out against Sullivan’s ‘traditional prom’
I am a pastor in Sullivan, Ind., and I am outraged.
Recently, two young students applied to walk the Grand March together in the school prom in Sullivan. -
FLASHPOINT: 0wning firearms is a First Amendment exercise, too
Following the hysteria generated by gun prohibitionists in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, a nationwide rush on gun stores began as citizens bought semiautomatic modern sporting rifles, handguns and ammunition, in effect “making a political statement” about proposals to ban such firearms.
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FLASHPOINT: Maintaining the priority
Recently a newspaper article has been written about a change in the by-laws of the Indiana High School Athletic Association which speaks directly to attempted undue influence exerted upon students below the level of grade nine and their parents.
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FLASHPOINT: The fairness of marriage
What is the current Indiana law concerning marriage? Our state defines marriage in a singular way — between a man and a woman.
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FLASHPOINT: We ask state legislators to abide by their oath of office
All of us relish giving unsolicited advice to our elected representatives.
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FLASHPOINT: Mentoring is having major impact on public education
While managing local utility services, Mike Martin found a new way to energize his community, and students are starting to benefit.
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FLASHPOINT: Common Core standards should be common sense
Years ago, when state officials and education experts came together to create new model standards for schools, they probably never expected it to be controversial.
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