Indiana Wesleyan University’s new Chapel-Auditorium has received an Outstanding Design Award from American School & University and is featured in the magazine’s Architectural Portfolio 2010. The building opened in January.
The portfolio, which appears in the November issue of the magazine, is the premier national showcase celebrating the best in education design.
Two other buildings on IWU’s Marion campus, the Phillippe Performing Arts Center and Jackson Library, previously received the same award. The arts center opened in 1996, and the library opened in 2003.
All three buildings were designed by Design Collaborative, Inc., a Fort Wayne-based architectural and engineering firm. Weigand Construction Co., Fort Wayne, was the general contractor for the Chapel-Auditorium.
The 3,800-seat Chapel-Auditorium, which is the tallest and most significant building in IWU history, represents a commitment to the spiritual foundation of the campus. The building cost $22 million and has 84,000 square feet of floor space. Seating is on the main level and balcony level, with the balcony seating extending down the sides to the main floor. Students sitting anywhere in the building can walk to the stage without using a stairway or an elevator.
The Chapel-Auditorium hosts chapel services three times a week and also provides assembly space for large campus and community events such as graduations, conferences, lecture series and concerts.
IWU’s two winter graduations, on December 18, are the next major events planned for the Chapel-Auditorium.