Колумбустағы Ээро Саариненнің банкі және оның тарихы

The Irwin Conference Center (formerly known as Irwin Union Bank) was designed by Eero Saarinen and built in 1954 in Columbus, Indiana, United States. It is currently owned and operated by Cummins, whose world headquarters is located across Jackson Street in the Cummins Corporate Office Building. In recognition of its unique and beautiful design, the resource was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 2001. The building consists of a one story bank structure and adjacent three story office annex. A portion of the office annex was built along with the banking hall in 1954. The remaining, much larger portion, designed by Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates, was built in 1973.

Irwin Miller became president of the Irwin Union Trust Company after his father's death in 1947. Three years later, he commissioned Eero Saarinen to design a new building for the bank. The building was designed to distance the Irwin Union Bank from traditional banking architecture, which mostly echoed imposing, neoclassical style buildings of brick or stone. Miller wanted the building to symbolize the bank's progressive mission, which included offering some of the first credit cards and earliest drive through banking. Instead of having tellers behind iron bars and removed from their customers, Saarinen worked to develop a building that would welcome customers rather than intimidate them. blockquote|text=I fly from Dallas to Columbus, Indiana where before the war we built a church. Perhaps you remember it. The same family, only a younger generation, wants to build a bank. We now have what I think is a very good scheme. I don't think it would be just the way it is unless you and I had been to Cordoba and seen the mosque. It is a wonderful opportunity to do something really good and different because the client is simply out of this world. It is going to be a bank without any pompousness, absolutely no intention to impress. All it is a very low glass enclosed marketplace like little building in the middle of the town.|author=Eero Saarinen|source=to his friend Astrid Sampe, with whom he had just spent a few days in Spain

The goal was to create a green space in the middle of downtown Columbus and provide the city with some breathing room. Since the bank building is lower than the surrounding buildings, its landscape feels more park like. As the number of automobiles on the streets grew in the early 1950s, spaces like this helped relieve the congestion of busy downtown areas.

In 2010, Cummins purchased the building from First Financial and announced its intention to remodel the bank and associated buildings at a cost of $5.25 million. First Financial would continue to occupy the building until its new facility is completed in 2012. Cummins then expects to complete renovations by summer 2014. The Saarinen designed structure will be used for a corporate conference center and meeting space.