INDIANA UNIVERSITY METZ BICENTENNIAL GRAND CARILLON | Bloomington, IN | 128 feet tall
2020 | Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture • Design in collaboration with Browning Day
Marking the intersection of Music, Landscape, History and Student Life, the design for the new Grand Carillon seeks to establish a symbol of the University’s Bicentennial, a new focal point on campus and place of gathering. The structure is designed to accommodate 65 bells weighing approximately 88,000 pounds. Its new location at the heart of campus, set within the Arboretum, recasts the landscape as an outdoor concert hall with the Grand Carillon as its centerpiece. The site lies at a crossroads of campus movement at the confluence of three existing campus pathways. The overall configuration of the carillon is defined by six limestone piers that form the primary structure of the tower. A series of smaller vertical fins complete the radial framework of the structure above. Horizontal steel rings visually and structurally unify the tower and provide lateral bracing. The overall ensemble supports the instrument – bass, treble bells and playing cabinet — suspended aloft. The new outdoor room created below the tower’s structure is a “hotspot” accessible by students going to and from classes.
Awards | SARA National Design Award, 2021
The Chicago Athenaeum, American Architecture Award, 2022
Global Design News Article
IU Carillon Performance, March 2021
gooood Article
Designboom Article
ARCHITECT Magazine Article
IU President McRobbie’s Remarks at the Groundbreaking
Download IU Carillon Booklet PDF
Photo Credit | Hadley Fruits, James Brosher / Indiana University, Susan Rodriguez, Browning Day, Michael Reschke, Eric Rudd / Indiana University, Ty Vinson / Indiana Daily Student
