USI's Griffin Center receives top prize in Indiana architecture design competition

The University of Southern Indiana's Griffin Center received the Honor Award for New Construction, the highest possible award, from the Indiana chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in the 2016 AIA Indiana Annual Design Awards.

"The Griffin Center is a beautiful, sophisticated structure which emulates the University's culture of forward thinking and the moment of maturation we are experiencing," said USI President Dr. Linda L. M. Bennett. "What has come to fruition is beyond our every expectation."

The Griffin Center is a 12,700 square-foot meeting and conference space overlooking Reflection Lake and facing east towards campus. The Center's largest venue is the Grand Hall, with space to accommodate more than 130 guests and striking views through floor to ceiling windows. Other available venues include a private study for small committee meetings, an atrium lobby and multipurpose meeting spaces that can be configured for groups of varied sizes and needs.

"The University of Southern Indiana built environment is modern, not traditional in style," said Jackson Faber of Hafer, project architect. "The campus, and the University, are forward looking. The Griffin Center exemplifies this same attitude. It respects the past but does not limit its future."

"This small academic building utilizes a simple, direct organization to connect the work to its bucolic site," said the competition jury in its remarks. "The material palette is reductive and refined, with consistent detailing inside and out. The result is a sophisticated, mature work that will become better with age."

The USI Business and Engineering Center received the Honor Award for New Construction during the 2013 AIA Indiana Annual Design Awards.