The John J. Barton Apartments building (hereinafter Barton Tower), designed by Evans Woollen and Associates, was completed in 1968. Conceived specifically for the elderly, the Tower was Indianapolis’ first public housing structure. Prior to the construction of the Tower, Indianapolis – with its population of roughly 530,000 people – was one of the largest cities in the United States with no public housing whatsoever. The Tower was named for John J. Barton, Indianapolis’ Democratic mayor from 1964 through 1967, and cost $2.85 million to build. Barton Tower comprises 21 above-ground stories and is 194 feet tall.
Shortly after the Tower’s opening, Woollen’s firm was rehired to design two adjoining structures: a six-story skybridge spanning East Street and the John J. Barton Annex, an eight-story building occupying an adjacent block. These attachments were completed in the early Seventies, and the entire Barton complex remained unaltered until the mid-Nineties. Unfortunately, the Indianapolis Housing Authority (now the Indianapolis Housing Agency) opted to demolish the skybridge and remodel the Annex in 1995, spending $6.3 million and removing 81 public housing units. In recent months, plans for the development of retail and residential space on the Tower’s triangular lot have received preliminary state and city approval.
Brutalist Design
editBarton Tower’s board-formed concrete composition, top-heavy massing, and repetitive angular geometries are quite characteristic of Brutalist architecture – named for the French béton brut, or “raw concrete.” Brutalism is well-noted for its architectural “honesty,” as Brutalist designs often feature exposed structural elements and rarely attempt to conceal interior function with exterior form. For example, most of Barton Tower’s load-bearing walls are plainly visible from the building’s exterior, and serve to divide the interior of each residential floor into structural bays of uniform width. Moreover, the Tower’s two projecting stairwells, along with the shoe-shaped emergency exit structures to which they connect at ground level, represent conspicuous components of the building’s external appearance. Fittingly, several Indianapolis writers and architects have commented that the Tower’s “no-nonsense” styling should appeal to Hoosiers’ Midwestern sensibilities. Due to its commanding aesthetic and cost-effectiveness, Brutalism was frequently utilized throughout Europe and the United States in designing low-income housing and government buildings during the third quarter of the twentieth century. In fact, before undertaking the Barton Tower housing project, Woollen’s firm was commissioned to design the Minton-Capehart Federal Building; this unmistakably Brutalist structure, an imposing inverted ziggurat, was completed in 1976 and stands adjacent to Veterans Memorial Plaza. In recent years, Brutalism has fallen out of vogue in most urban areas, partly because Brutalist materials are often susceptible to weather damage and spray-can graffiti.
Architectural Features
editThe Tower’s distinctive “broad-shouldered” profile resulted from Woollen’s decision to stack six floors of two-person apartments atop thirteen floors of smaller, one-person units. At the fifteenth level, the Tower’s walls extend outward to support larger apartments above; angular portals through these walls connect the balconies outside of the community lounge on this floor. Barton Tower’s high, relatively small windows were necessitated by federal requirements that tenants be able to wash both sides of the glass. Interestingly, the Tower’s wall projections and angular spandrels maximize these windows’ apparent size. The Tower’s economical, double-loaded corridor scheme is evidenced externally by two protrusive stairwells, both of which include eye-level strip windows on each level.
Evans Woollen
editEvans Woollen, an Indianapolis native, has helped to shape the architectural landscape of his hometown for over fifty years. After graduating from Yale University in 1952, Woollen worked as a draftsman in the office of internationally-known architect Philip Johnson, designing homes for clients in Connecticut. In 1955, Woollen returned to Indianapolis to open his own architecture office, initially focusing on residential projects. Four years later, Woollen partnered with John Johansen and was selected to design Clowes Memorial Hall, a performance space at Butler University. Upon completion in 1963, Clowes received national attention and widespread acclaim, leading to several major commissions for Evans Woollen and Associates. Woollen’s other notable designs include the Musical Arts Center at Indiana University, the New Harmony Inn, the 1989 Indianapolis Children’s Museum addition, and the 2007 Central Library addition.
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