New IAF Board Members - 2019
The Indiana Architectural Foundation welcomed three new Board members this year:
Chris Reinhart, LFA, Well AP - Cripe, Jack Faber, AIA - Hafer Design, and Michael Davis, AIA, EDAC - VPS Architecture have joined the 13 member Board.
Indiana Architectural Database Spotlight: Roofless Church
Roofless Church
New Harmony, Indiana
Architect: Philip Johnson
The Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana
New Harmony Indiana is home to several architecturalattractions. One of the most prominentworks is the non-denominational Roofless Church designed by architect PhilipJohnson. The Church is comprised of an open park surrounded by a rectangular brickwall. The organization of the parkresembles a formal church with a center aisle and an altar. The altar however is replaced with a flower-likeshaped dome with cedar shingles engulfing a bronze statue, surrounded byshrubbery placed on an ornately laid out cobblestone patio. The canopy structure resembles a cloth drapedover a table and has been noted to cast a shadow that looks like an open rose. The golden rose was the symbol of the utopiancommunity that founded New Harmony.
The simplicity of the Church and the inclusion of trees and landscaping in the space is part of its charm. It is a clean Modernist statement about the preservation of nature and religion. It is also a unique project of Philip Johnson’s varied catalog. It is one of Indiana’s hidden treasures and is included as one of the first 50 projects in the Indiana Architecture Database created by the Indiana Architectural Foundation.
The Indiana Architecture Database was created to archive significant architectural works within the State of Indiana. For more information about this project and the Indiana Architecture Database visit https://www.architectureindiana.com/.
IAF Scholarship spotlight: Chris Reinhart
IAF scholarship helps former college dropout realize his dreams of becoming an architect
Chris Reinhart didn’t take the traditional route toarchitecture school. But Reinhart isn’t what you’d call a traditional kind ofguy. He built his first home out of straw bales and salvaged materials.
When he graduated from Lafayette Jefferson High School, theacademically gifted 18-year-old headed off to Indiana University and the worldappeared to be his oyster. However, after five semesters, he “very ungracefully,”dropped out. He formed a rock band, Cadmium Orange and got a construction job.
Today, at age 40, Reinhart is days away from receiving his master’s degree in architecture, and he’s working part-time as a design associate at Cripe Architects, a job he said he landed, in part, because of the Indiana Architectural Foundation.
During the scholarship presentation, IAF asked each of therecipients to say a few words about their project. Reinhart talked about ahypothetical design for a future charter school in Bloomington. He doesn’tremember exactly what he said, but he remembers the call he got from Cripeasking him to come in and talk about a job.
Reinhartwas “prepared, polished and engaging,” said Fred Green, Cripe’spresident and COO and former IAF board member. Reinhart grabbed his attentionas soon as he started speaking.
“I think I was in the middle of dessert when he beganspeaking, and I thought who is that? He presented himself in a very organizedand thoughtful manner, and you could tell he was a little older than the restof the students, a life-long learner who had been around the block and knewwhat he was talking about,” Green remembered. “I thought this is a guy whocould really be an ambassador for our firm.”
Reinhart is grateful for IAF, which awarded him three scholarships and helped him make connections.
“It made it finally possible to go to school and not be sostressed out,” said Reinhart, a single dad who commutes from Bloomington toMuncie as he completes his masters. “I have enormous gratitude for IAF for tworeasons, helping me make it through school and bringing together all these Indyfirms and providing me the opportunity to make myself known to them. It’s verymeaningful to have a great relationship with an employer I love.”
He’s also doing work he’s passionate about. Reinhart’s loveof architecture began to build as he worked up through the ranks inconstruction. He became enamored with the thought of building his own house, sohe took some workshops about earth and straw bale construction, bought a littleland on a hillside in Bloomington and went to work on a cottage, which beganhis working lab.
That became the genesis for going back to college. After a10-year hiatus, he enrolled in the design technology program at Ivy Tech.Things began to click. He became president of the Ivy Tech Ecology Club, and bythe time he graduated from Ivy Tech in 2009, with a 4.0 GPA, won the Janine CRae Humanitarian Award, was named the Outstanding Student in Design Technology,was named the Bryon Fellow and was a commencement speaker.
Next up was Ball State’s prestigious College of Architectureand Planning. Reinhart enrolled at the age of 32. Along with his bachelor’sdegree he collected even more accolades. He won the prestigious Udall Scholaraward in 2012, and was awarded Indiana Architecture Pinnacles of Excellenceawards in both 2012 and 2013. In 2013, he received the CAP Best and BrightestAward, was named a Building Better Communities Fellow and won the BuildingBetter Communities Leadership Award.
Reinhart has found his stride. When he completes hismasters, he’s going to stay put in Bloomington and help Cripe develop thedesign market in Bloomington and will become Cripe’s director of sustainability and research.
“I love the intersection of technology and architecture asit relates to human wellness,” he said. “I want to do more with evidence-baseddesign, not just in medical office buildings, but also in retail and officesettings. There are a lot of improvements that can be made.”
While he no longer lives in the straw-bale house, he’splanning an addition to bring it up to 1,200 or 1,300 square feet, and maybemove back in when his son, who is now 17, heads off to college.
AIA/IAF 1st Annual Trivia Night is a Mind-blowing success
AIA/IAF 1st Annual Trivia Night is a Mind-blowing success
Jeopardy champ, James Holzhauer, would have been hard pressed competing against the 60 plus trivia enthusiasts present at the first annual AIA-IAF Trivia Night held on April 12th at the District Tap Restaurant and Bar. Participants enjoyed an evening of refreshments, drinks, prizes, fun, goofy eyewear, and of course plenty of brain taxing trivia questions. The event was led by our outstanding trivia master, Justin Sage, who did a tremendous job running the show and keeping contestants scratching their heads for answers. Through ten tedious rounds of questions (with a couple bonus rounds tossed in for fun) seven teams competed neck and neck until the final round when the eventual champ was determined.
The winning team hailed from American Structurepoint who aptly dubbed themselves ‘Structureyoink’ included team members Rob Bray, Matt Jennings, Abbey Kochert, Joe Koslow, Dan McCloskey, Noah Porter, Jeff Thornberry, and Brianna Wetzel. Congratulations to our first team winners who are recipients of the AIA-IAF Trivia Masters traveling trophy and a few other prizes as well not to mention bragging rights. The runner up team was ‘Axis Allies’.
All in all the event was a tremendous fund raising success for both AIA and the Indiana Architectural Foundation by raising over $3800 for the two organization. Everyone had an enjoyable night of fun and we are looking forward to next year’s event with great anticipation.
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The Winners: Structureyoink