Located in New Harmony, Indiana, New Harmony’s Atheneum serves as the visitor’s center the city and was designed by Richard Meier. The building is named after the Greek Athenaion, a temple dedicated to Athena. The structure was funded in 1976 by the Indianapolis Lilly Endowment, and opened to the public in 1979. The building itself is actually quite famous, and boasts many awards including the Progressive Architecture Award, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Award, and the AIA’s Twenty-Five Year Award.

This building is intended to serve as a center for visitor and cultural orientation. On the third floor exhibition space, visitors can gaze back and reflect on the route full of jagged windows and orthogonal grids. Finally, on the roof terrace, visitors are awarded with a panoramic view of the town of New Harmony.

I found the design of this building to be captivating, as it really allows visitors to immerse themselves with the unique cultural features of New Harmony, Indiana.