About The Pyramids
Drivers on the northwest side of Indianapolis encounter three dark pyramids that appear to have landed beside Interstate 465. They are not monuments or a themed attraction, but an office complex designed by the celebrated firm Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates.
Constructed between 1967 and 1972, the three eleven-story buildings contain more than 366,000 square feet. Their sloping glass walls face inward toward landscaped lakes, while the broad concrete backs form the stepped pyramid profiles seen from the highway. The original plan imagined nine pyramids on a 200-acre site, allowing the College Life Insurance Company to expand one building at a time. Only the first three were completed.
The complex remains private office property rather than a museum, so visitors should admire it from public approaches and respect tenant areas. Renovations begun after a 2022 sale refreshed the facades, lobbies, landscaping, and shared amenities. The result is a still-functioning piece of late-modern architecture that looks much stranger than the ordinary office parks surrounding it.