✕

You will find single modern pyramids in the United States in Las Vegas and in Memphis. But there’s only one American, Giza-scaled trifecta of such structures, and it’s in Indianapolis, an early Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates project completed in 1972 and newly refurbished by local firm DKGR.

Known simply as the Pyramids, the three buildings sit on the northern edge of Indianapolis, directly alongside the city’s beltway in the suburban neighborhood of College Park. (They were inspired by a triangular fragment of concrete Roche spotted while driving though the New Jersey Meadowlands.) The client was College Life Insurance, which was launched with the canny idea of offering life insurance to the young and later sent to the corporate underworld in 1988 after a merger and subsequent name change.

Each building recieved new signage and entry portals as part of the refresh. Photo by Jerome Daksiewicz/DKGR

College Life initially wanted both a long-term expansion plan and a single 20-story tower. Instead, Roche suggested an assemblage of unusual, pyramidic buildings at 11 stories each, whose design was arranged to foreground a manmade 25-acre lake and occlude the nearby interstate. Nine were envisioned, but only three were realized.

The two highway-facing sides of the four-sided Pyramids are sheer concrete walls—separated by a narrow window strip—that line 14-foot-thick core masses containing elevators, stairs, bathrooms, and other functional elements. The other two sides of each building turn to vertiginous fun: curtain walls sloping at a 70-degree angle, containing glass panels of about 6-by-4 feet separated by mullions. Columns were placed at 30-foot intervals, creating generous undivided spaces. Given the wall slope, the floorplates diminish from 14,000 square feet at the base of the buildings to 3,600 square feet at the top, where executive offices were originally located (this variety of floor sizing has been helpful to more recent mixed-tenant leasing). Spread across the three buildings, the complex contains a total of 366,700 square feet.

One of the three renovated ground-floor elevator lobbies. Photo by Jerome Daksiewicz/DKGR

The buildings are linked by bridges at their second floors and by a subsurface level that contains not pharaonic tombs but various social and service spaces. Original Roche-Dinkeloo interior furnishings included a low wood partition system faced with stainless steel and designed to demarcate offices without obscuring sightlines. At some point, they were replaced by a garish Egyptian Postmodern theme.

The Pyramids made a splash when they opened. In a 1973 interview with Architectural Forum, Philip Johnson cited them among several favorite recent buildings. “[The] repeated, isolated tapering towers float in the landscape and seem to have more to do with Druid stonescapes than with modern architecture, but actually create a new romanticism welcome in the dreary International Style,” he wrote. In 1982, they were among the works cited during the presentation of Roche’s Pritzker Architecture Prize.

1

2

View of exterior (1) and interior (2) renovation work. Photos by Jerome Daksiewicz/DKGR

The office campus has seen several owners since College Life, and in 2022 was purchased by Indianapolis-based commercial real estate company KennMar. It contracted DKGR to conduct a significant renovation, the cost of which the Indianapolis Business Journal reported as just under $12 million. DKGR design director Jerome Daksiewicz explained that the aim of his firm was to "increase the value of an iconic architectural project.”

“We did a bit of de-Egyptianing,” said Daksiewicz. “Our goal was to get back to the vision and the purity of the original design as much as possible.” To that end, his teamreached out to Linda Scinto, archivist at New Haven, Connecticut–based successor firm Roche Modern for project documentation.

In the building lobbies, faux columns and interior partitions were removed; new ribbed ceiling slats were added to bring a “a layer of texture and warmth” while providing a wayfinding hint that connects both exterior entrances. Additional new lobby elements include moss-planted interior green walls and seating coves that nod to an original Roche design element. The terrazzo floors were retained, covered with occasional carpets to provide baffling.

Tower One entrance prior to renovation work. Photo by Jerome Daksiewicz/DKGR

An elevator lobby prior to renovation work. Photo by Jerome Daksiewicz/DKGR

In addition to the three lobbies, the DKGR team also undertook substantial revamps of the office park’s basement level. A kitchenette was converted into an amenity lounge, and conference rooms were modernized. In the upgraded fitness center, Daksiewicz noticed ribbed concrete above the drop ceiling and exposed it for a bracing glimpse of original structure.

On the exterior of the Pyramids, the glass curtain walls were in good shape thanks to previous improvements and didn’t require additional work. White metal-clad portals were added to the existing entrances along with building numbering. Additional exterior lighting was also installed at the base of the buildings, giving them a more dramatic presence at night.

 As for the exposed concrete faces of the Pyramids, Daksiewicz said that decades of wear and tear necessitated “a mid-level restoration” that involved coating exposed rebar, patching cracks, power-washing the concrete, and recoating it with white latex paint.

The original landscaping, plotted by Sasaki, Dawson & DeMay, had been previously altered, but DKGR added a row of trees along the lake that they had spotted in original Roche-Dinkeloo renderings.

Photo by Jerome Daksiewicz/DKGR

When reached for comment about the Pyramids revamp, Eamon Roche, Kevin Roche’s son and managing director of Roche Modern, offered a positive assessment: “In a time when buildings from this era are often demolished, we can applaud the owner’s commitment to and investment in maintaining and celebrating the contribution this property makes to the social, urban, cultural, and environmental landscape of Indianapolis.”

Mark Dollase, vice president of the nonprofit Indiana Landmarks, also applauded the larger rejuvenation scheme. However, he did object to the repainting of the concrete surfaces as it creates “a maintenance cycle where little was needed prior to the change.”

“I always encourage the preservation of the architect’s original design intent and retention of original materials where possible,” Dollase said. “Many landmarks of Modern design are under similar threats of losing their integrity of design to the latest trends.”

Dollase added: “When people in Indianapolis refer to the Pyramids they aren’t thinking of Egypt.” Following DKGR’s considerate modernization of the property, it is safe to say that this habit will not change any time soon.