Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center

Evansville, Indiana

Firm

VPS Architecture

Client

Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation

Area

260,000 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$43,452,206

Completion Date

10/2006

From the outset of planning for the Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center (SICTC), an entire five-county region of southwestern Indiana was represented in creating the vision for a responsive, hands-on, collaborative and forward-thinking center for workforce development.
George Copa, Oregon State professor and national leader in setting strategy for effective and far-sighted career centers, was retained to assist the architects in community participation and needs analysis. In addition to pre-existing advisory boards in each of the career categories, Copa enlisted a 54-person project task force and a 12-person steering committee, both of which were composed of leaders in business, labor, industry and education from communities throughout the southwestern Indiana region.
Designed with two converging radial spines, the SICTC features a centralized student commons with a pentagon-shaped clerestory that crowns the main entry foyer. The pentagon represents the five counties whose students attend the facility. With in-depth input from community leaders in business, industry and labor, the facility layout is a “plug-and-play” configuration of big-box and small-box labs and studios. These customized spaces have their own delivery routes, outdoor storage and marshaling options. In addition to optimum flexibility for internal and external furniture and equipment usage, the various studios can be expanded or converted easily in the future without compromising the integrity of other neighboring work areas or disciplines.
Modern digital technologies for information and research communication can be seen throughout the expansive 260,000-square-foot facility. Classroom projection systems tied to the Internet, as well as networked internally, keep students on the cusp of the latest offerings in the disciplines of their choice. The Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center is open for business and bullish on technologies of the future.