Purdue University, Krach Leadership Center

West Lafayette, Indiana

Firm

Scholer Corporation

Client

Purdue University

Area

81,502 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$19,556,500

Completion Date

04/2014

Anchoring the new Third Street Student Success Corridor at Purdue University, Krach Leadership Center is more than just a building for housing student organizations and activities. The goal was to transform the entire student educational experience by removing barriers to student collaboration and creating innovative leadership engagement programs that affect the entire student body.
Representing a “Main Street” of student life, the first floor serves as an informal public space that provides opportunities to meet, relax and interact all hours of the day. The second, third and fourth floors offer more formalized, flexible space for student organizations and leadership development programs.
Krach’s south façade responds to the Third Street corridor by exposing the internal life of the facility with a predominantly transparent first floor punctuated by an expansive four-story curtain wall atrium and glass-railed staircase. An architectural palette of brick with limestone accents builds upon the existing campus vernacular. The new center also assists in framing a major new campus “green” designed to support informal recreation and provide a vibrant hub for outdoor community life.