Evans Woollen III (August 10, 1927 – May 17, 2016) was an American architect who is credited for introducing the Modern and the Brutalist architecture styles to his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. Woollen, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) and a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture, was active in the field from the mid-1950s to the early 2000s. He established his own architecture firm in Indianapolis in 1955 that became known as Woollen, Molzan and Partners; it dissolved in 2011. As a pacesetter among architects in the Midwest, Woollen, dubbed the dean of Indiana architects, was noted for his use of bold materials and provocative, modern designs.
Some of Woollen's most iconic projects were built in Indianapolis: Clowes Memorial Hall, the Minton-Capehart Federal Building, John J. Barton Tower, Hilbert Conservatory at White River Gardens, and major additions to the Indianapolis Central Library and The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Woollen also designed several of the city's notable mid-century modern homes. In addition, Woollen and his firm planned and managed the renovation of several of the city's historic structures, including the Indiana Theatre, the Majestic Building, and Indianapolis Union Station, among others. Major projects outside of Indianapolis included the Over-the-Rhine Pilot Center in Cincinnati, Ohio; Indiana University's Musical Arts Center in Bloomington, Indiana; and the Moody Music Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Woollen was especially known for his churches and college libraries, such as Saint Andrew's Abbey Church in Cleveland, Ohio; the Cushwa-Leighton Library at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana; and the Grainger Engineering Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Early life and education Evans Woollen III was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 10, 1927, to Lydia (Jameson) and Evans Woollen Jr. The Woollen family's ties to Indianapolis date from the 1840s. "Evans" was the maiden name of Woollen III's great-grandmother. Woollen III's father and grandfather, Evans Woollen Jr. and Evans Woollen Sr., were prominent Indianapolis bankers and arts patrons. Woollen was a descendant of Samuel Merrill, a former Indiana state treasurer, and Conrad Baker, a former Indiana governor."Biographical Sketch" in
Woollen attended Indianapolis Public Schools and took art classes at the John Herron Art Institute before transferring to The Hotchkiss School, an exclusive preparatory school in Lakeville, Connecticut, during his junior year of high school. Woollen, who later remarked that he had wanted to be an architect since his youth, studied under modern architects Philip Johnson and Louis Kahn at Yale University. In addition, Woollen trained under architects Paul Schweikher and John M. Johansen. Woollen graduated from Yale School of Architecture in 1952, earning a B.A. and an M.Arch. degree.Mary Ellen Gadski, "Woollen, Molzan and Partners" in
Woollen apprenticed at Johnson's firm in New Canaan, Connecticut, which was a center for modern architectural design at that time. Johnson was the noted modernist architect of the Glass House in New Canaan. Woollen also worked on his own for two years before establishing his practice in Indianapolis in 1955.
Marriage and family In 1955, Woollen married Nancy Sewell, a psychotherapist, educator, and arts community leader. The Woollens settled in Indianapolis and moved into the former residence of Indianapolis architect Kurt Vonnegut Sr. on North Illinois Street in 1962. The home was also the boyhood home of Vonnegut's son, the noted author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The Woollens were the parents of two sons, Malcolm and Ian. Nancy Sewell Woollen died in 1992.
Following Woollen's retirement from his architectural practice in Indianapolis around 2001, he moved to Boulder, Colorado, where he designed his own home.Fernandez, p. 73.
Career In 1955, at the age of twenty-seven, Woollen returned to his hometown of Indianapolis to establish his architecture firm, which remained in business for more than fifty-five years. Woollen initially specialized in modern residential designs, but his work soon expanded to include commercial and urban-design projects"Biographical Sketch" in Woollen, Molzan and Partners, Inc. Architectural Records, ca. 1912–2011. See also: Gadski, "Woollen, Molzan and Partners" in The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, pp. 1453–54. before he retired in the early 2000s.
Early residential commissions Woollen's early commissions were primarily mid-century modern residences in the International style. One of Woollen's first commissions in Indianapolis was an International-style home for the Perlov family. The symmetrical, one-story, U-shaped residence (ca. 1960–63) was featured in House and Garden magazine. When the International style did not prove to be especially popular among Indianapolis homeowners, Woollen turned to other styles, as well as commission work for commercial projects. Another early residential commission illustrates his modern interpretation of an earlier architectural form. The Leibman residence (ca. 1962–64), featured in House Beautiful and House and Garden magazines, was a cluster house of two circular structures with conical roofs that evoked the style of an old European peasant farmhouse in southern Italy. See also:
Major commercial projects Between 1962 and 1976, Woollen was commissioned to design some of his best-known works, many of which serve as examples of Modernism and Brutalism architectural styles. Woollen's best known commercial projects were built in Indianapolis. These include Fesler Hall (1962), an addition to the John Herron Art Institute; Clowes Memorial Hall (1963), co-designed with John M. Johansen and located on the campus of Butler University; the John J. Barton Tower (1967), a high-rise apartment building; Saint Thomas Aquinas Church (1968); and the Minton-Capehart Federal Building (1976). These structures are notable for their exposed concrete slabs, which are typical of the Brutalism style.
Fesler Hall, Woollen's first civic commission, was a freestanding wing addition at the John Herron Art Institute. The three-story structure connected via covered walkway to the original Paul Philippe Cret-designed building that was erected in 1928–29. Woollen's addition was noted for its use of reinforced concrete, exposed columns, and deeply coffered ceilings.
The design for the $3.5 million Clowes Memorial Hall was a controversial one, but Allen Whitehill Clowes, the son of George H. A. Clowes for whom the building is named, supported Woollen's proposal. The thirty-one-year-old Woollen teamed with John M. Johansen, a modernist architect with a national reputation who had been Woollen's professor at Yale and a former classmate of Allen Clowes at Harvard University.Fernandez, p. 68. Woollen served as the junior partner in the project, but he was the "driving force behind its design and detail." Since Clowes Hall opened in 1963, the architectural community has praised its bold design. The success of this major project, which a reporter for The New York Times Magazine called "cool, dignified, and quietly dramatic," led to Woollen securing other significant commissions in Indianapolis.
Another of Woollen's major projects in the 1960s was Barton Tower, the first high-rise apartment building in Indianapolis that provided low-cost housing for senior citizens.Gadski, "Woollen, Molzan and Partners" in The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, pp. 1453-54. See also: Drawbaugh. Described by some as "ungainly" and "awkward," it received international coverage in architecture journals for its "inventive take on public housing."Fernandez, p. 72. The estimated $3.5 million project contained 248 apartment units on twenty floors. The tower's fifteenth floor offered an open public space for use of its residents.
Libraries and churches also became a specialty of Woollen and his firm. The Modernist-style Marian University library (1966) in Indianapolis, Indiana, had a square form with an exposed structural frame and open staircase with stacks arranged around reading areas. Two of Woollen's early notable church designs include Saint Thomas Aquinas Church (1968) in Indianapolis and Saint Andrew's Abbey Church (1985–86) in Cleveland, Ohio. Saint Thomas Aquinas Church was the recipient of an Indiana Society of Architects award for its bold, geometric design. Saint Andrew's polygonal plan has a controversial asymmetrical exterior and striking modern sanctuary of exposed steel, concrete walls, and an upward-sloping ceiling.
The Minton-Capehart Federal Building was a $20 million project that some have called a "pigeon coop" and "the ugliest building in Indianapolis."Trounstine, p. 20. Built to fill in the east side of the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza, the block-long, six-story structure is raised above grade on large columns. The concrete building is known for its distinctive, horizontal façade that tilts outward as the square footage of each upper floor increases. Graphic artist Milton Glaser designed a graphic rainbow mural that wraps the exterior's base. Many local residents disliked the colorful mural, as well as the building's stark design, but architects have considered it one of the city's few "cutting-edge designs from the 1970s."Fernandez, p. 72. See also: "Recent Work of Evans Woollen," Architectural Record, pp. 142–43.
Partnership with Molzan In 1968, Woollen formed a partnership with Lynn Molzan, a Tacoma, Washington, native who joined the firm in 1965. The firm was incorporated as Woollen Associates in 1968. It was renamed Woollen, Molzan and Partners in 1982 and dissolved in 2011, several years after Woollen retired. Woollen, Molzan, and their team designed a wide range of projects, including commercial buildings, churches, governmental buildings, and various college and university buildings, among other projects.
Notable works from the 1970s and 1980s in Indianapolis included an atrium entrance (1989) to The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and the White River Gardens Conservatory (1999) at the Indianapolis Zoo. Outside of Indianapolis, major projects in Indiana included the New Harmony Inn (1975) at New Harmony and Saint Meinrad Archabbey's monastery and library (1984) in Spencer County.
Woollen and his firm designed numerous performing arts structures, libraries, and academic buildings, which became the firm's specialties. Notable examples include several Indianapolis churches: Saint Phillip's Church (1986), Holy Cross Lutheran Church (1990), Saint Monica's Church (1993), and a modern addition (1983–89) to Christ Church Cathedral, a city landmark on Monument Circle. Notable library projects included the Cushwa-Leighton Library (1981–82) at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana, and Indiana University's Musical Arts Center (1972) in Bloomington. The two-story, rectangular-shaped Cushwa-Leighton Library at Saint Mary's College was one of the five winners of the AIA/ALA Library Building Award for 1983. The IU project, another example of Woollen's interpretation of the Brutalist style, includes work and storage spaces arranged around a cylindrical, 1,500-seat opera house."Recent Work of Evans Woollen," Architectural Record, pp. 144–45. See also: Drawbaugh.
Despite his many successful projects, Woollen's outspoken nature cost his firm at least one major commission. Woollen expressed his preference for building the new Indianapolis Museum of Art facility amid the historic buildings in downtown Indianapolis, but the decision was made to build the new art museum at its present-day site northwest of the downtown area. Because he opposed its location, Woollen was not commissioned to design any of the art museum's buildings.