The headquarters complex for the National Collegiate Athletic Association was designed to provide a new tourist attraction in White River State Park and a fresh image for the institution in its move to Indianapolis. MGA&D’s program and design for the workplace corresponded with a reassessment of NCAA’s corporate culture, shifting from a hierarchical, vertical organization to a more open, horizontal one.
The façade of the Hall of Champions, reminiscent of college athletic facilities, is frequently used as a backdrop for NCAA announcements and broadcasts. The grand hall draped with flags of the member institutions, lobby gallery and gift shop are open to the public without charge. Inside the Exhibition Center, a 90-seat orientation theater and two floors of exhibits celebrate scholar-athletes.
The complex is comprised of a four-story block where the offices and conference center are located, a linked two-story hemicycle for the Hall of Champions Exhibition Center, and a small historic building that had housed the superintendent’s offices for a former power plant on this brownfield site. The three linked structures share a courtyard that connects to the greensward of White River State Park and a promenade along an adjacent canal.
