Old City Hall
TRANSFORM OLD CITY HALL INTO A TEMPORARY OFFICE FOR PLANNING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT USING RESOURCES SALVAGED FROM THE BUILDING ITSELF.
HANDS DOWN, THIS IS ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS WE'VE EVER DONE.
THE STUDIO
Before.
DETAILS
The Hall was a space for the people of Indianapolis to explore the city's future development plans, visions, and strategies. Sitting vacant for the past several years, the temporary reuse of City Hall was conceived by Adam Thies, Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development. Adam reached out to People for Urban Progress to redesign the space using upcycled resources, many of which were pulled directly from the building. Additional work was performed by the Building Authority, with financial support provided by the The Indianapolis Foundation (an Affiliate of the Central Indiana Community Foundation) and The City of Indianapolis.
Built in 1909, City Hall was heralded as "'magificent,' 'a commodious, comfortable home,' 'well appointed and remarkably elegant and convenient... in every way.'" Thomas L. Sullivan, mayor from 1891-1893, summed it up by saying, "Just put in all the adjectives you think of. It is certainly magnificently complete." Since then, the building has been beaten up, serving both as the Indiana State Museum and the Interim Central Library. PUP's work, in conjunction with DMD and the Plan 2020 Team, aimed to restore the spirit of City Hall as a place centered around people, ideas, and urban innovation.