Indiana State Museum — Indianapolis

Development Team
GENERAL CONTRACTOR, FINISH CARPENTRY,
DEMOLITION, MASONRY/CONCRETE: F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co. Inc., Indianapolis
ARCHITECT: Ratio Architects Inc., Indianapolis
STRUCTURAL DESIGN: Fink Roberts & Petrie Inc., Indianapolis
STRUCTURAL CONTRACTOR: Geiger & Peters, Indianapolis

Several elements affected the complexity of the Indiana State Museum project.
Neighboring buildings resulted in limited laydown area.

Most materials were located across the canal. To keep the delivery area open, quick installation was required.

Materials included limestone, sandstone, rough back, granite brick and boulders. The masonry team alone peaked at 45 masons and 30 hodcarriers - a difficulty overcome by F. A. Wilhelm Construction Co., the general contractor, employing its own stonemasons.

The general contractor performed the most hazardous work, such as demolition. The incident rate was 6.12, a figure below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's rate for museum construction: 8.8.

The jury said, "The breaking free of rigid geometry is nice. It is an architecturally beautiful building that is located in a difficult part of Indianapolis. The siting was interesting."

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