Chunk of concrete was the inspiration for Indy's pyramids

The Pyramids on Indianapolis’ northwest side are undergoing renovations including updated lobbies, new fitness center and tenant lounge.  The exterior will also be refreshed.

The office buildings are part of a 200-acre commercial development in College Park.

While these iconic buildings, constructed between 1967 and 1972, are familiar to many, few know what they are or how they came to be.

Architect Kevin Roche found inspiration in a chunk of concrete in the shape of a pyramid on the side of the road. He was working on the design for College Life Insurance Company when he saw the shape and decided it would be perfect for the corporate campus.

Linda Schinto was Roche’s executive assistant.

“He came up with the idea of nine buildings because they wanted a big 20-story building, but they wanted to be able to add on to it and he said, ‘Well, you really can't. You can't build a 20-story building and increments. You must build it all at once,’” Schinto said.

Schinto said Roche always had a grand scheme for the entire project.

“I think he was a little disappointed that they never built the other six [buildings]. But he did say that the three buildings alone were, you know, rather compelling on their own and, and was pleased with the way that they looked.”

After Roche’s death in 2019, Schinto became an archivist.  Roche’s family donated over six  decades of his work to the Manuscripts and Archives division of the Yale University Library.

“There are 2,014 boxes in the collection at Yale now and what I tried to do was not only capture the projects as they were, but the people that work there and the type of office it was,” Schinto said.

"It's always more than the one person's name who's on the door, it always takes a village, as they say, to do all this work. And I just wanted to be able to preserve that, for people to see not just, you know, the drawings themselves, but how these things came together.”

Projects from Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates are extensively documented in the archives, including the Pyramids, and can be found online.

  Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Taylor Bennett at tbennett@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @TaylorB2213.