Located at Stadium and Northwestern avenues, Armstrong Hall’s dramatic design expresses engineering and an innovative spirit. A distinctive cantilever mimics an aircraft’s wing to symbolize Purdue’s contributions to flight and the space program. Exterior brick and limestone materials tie the new building back to the historic campus context. Inside, conduits, ductwork, pipes for the chilled-water air conditioning system and other mechanical elements are exposed in the ceiling to provide a sense of engineering’s role in the building’s vital functions.
Outside the building’s main entrance, an eight-foot bronze sculpture of Neil Armstrong as a Purdue engineering student sits on a stone plinth above the plaza’s concrete inscription of his famous quote. Moon boot impressions reminiscent of Armstrong’s historic lunar excursion lead away from the statue.
