When Republic Airways set out to reimagine its new headquarters, the goal was more than just a new office. It was a place conducive to reshaping how a modern airline operates, trains its staff and connects its entire workforce. The result is a multi-phase aviation campus in Carmel that brings together corporate offices, pilot and fight attendant training, and lodging and relaxation in one environment.
Years in the making, planning for the project began prior to the pandemic, paused, as did most company projects during that time, and accelerated to position the airline to overcome workforce challenges, particularly the pilot shortage.
“Like a lot of projects, I think it got caught up in all that uncertainty,” said Chris Boardman, Principal and President of RATIO Design, the architecture firm for the project. “We probably paused for about a year while they got their feet back under them and understood where the future of the industry was going to go.”
As the project resumed, the vision was one of speed, flexibility and a different approach to design.
Built for People
The new Republic Airways campus consolidates what were once scattered operations, now in one connected footprint. The corporate headquarters, state-of-the-art training center and on-site lodging are designed to function as one ecosystem. The design supports employees from their first day of training through daily operations.
Efficiency was only part of the plan. The decision to construct an inclusive campus and the design that followed were based on the vision of bringing human interaction.
“It’s culture,” said Jake Plummer, Principal and Project Manager of RATIO. “Why would you spend the money to build a building when people can do a job from sitting in their home? It’s to bring people together to collaborate.”
That philosophy is embedded throughout the campus. Each building serves a purpose, yet all of them are connected physically and programmatically, creating a constant flow of movement and engagement – both during work hours and after.
The training center, for example, is organized around shared spaces that encourage interaction at each level. A central open stair connects three floors. Each floor has its own hub that features gathering or sitting areas, food spaces and terraces. Boardman noted that even the level of the building that holds the flight simulator to train pilots has views to the other spaces.
Boardman noted that the headquarters building balances traditional office space with active communal areas. The main level operates 24 hours a day and has dining, open seating and access to outdoor amenities.
“I was just out there again recently, and it’s really active. People are eating breakfast, lunch, talking,” said Boardman. “It really is a 24/7 campus.”
Work and Restoration
One of the unique aspects to the campus is the corporate lodging or housing for pilots and crew members who may stay for weeks at a time as they are training. In the first phase of that project, seven stories were added onto an existing hotel on the campus to accommodate the lodging, food service, laundry facilities and a fitness center. Plummer said the project owners wanted the design to be shaped in a way that would allow employees a work/life balance while training.
“When they stepped out of that training center, they did not want it to feel like the training center,” said Plummer. “They wanted a place that was restorative, where they could rest, socialize and recharge.”
Boardman said the design team was careful in all the details, deliberately avoiding aviation-themed interiors and instead focusing on creating comfortable, social areas.
“There’s not like airplanes on the walls. It’s meant to feel like a break from that environment,” he said.
The result is a training campus that blends the intensity of aviation instruction with space to decompress.
Speed as a Force
Boardman said that though the campus is cohesive, the delivery required a fast and phased construction process.
“The speed and phased nature of the project was the toughest challenge. It had to happen fast enough that we couldn’t do it all at once,” he said.
Work began with the training center, which now houses some of the project’s biggest challenges during construction. Crews were charged with designing and building a facility capable of housing full-motion flight simulators in a short turnaround time.
“We started construction at the end of 2021, and the training center was done in 12 months,” Plummer noted.
To meet the tight schedule, the team chose precast concrete construction for the structural system.
“The choice of materials was incredibly deliberate,” said Plummer. “We were trying to find materials that were economical, but that they could assemble and build in a fairly short manner.”
With the use of technology, the manufacturers could develop what the building looked like, form the parts like building blocks and deliver them to the site in four to five months, he noted. The precast components were made in Michigan and shipped directly to the site.
“They got the last shipment the day before the frost laws went into effect. It really was all about just in time,” Boardman said.
Building Around Advanced Technology
The training center’s claim to fame are flight simulators, massive full-motion machines that dictated much of the building’s design. They were the foundational components of the project.
Plummer said each unit required precise spatial coordination, in some cases a fraction of an inch, as well as careful planning for mechanical, electrical and structural systems. The simulators move, replicating takeoffs, lands and in-flight conditions, so the building had to accommodate both the size and motion.
The timeline for construction was also driven by the simulators themselves, factoring in installation, testing and certification from the manufacturers as well as the Federal Aviation Administration.
Urban Appeal
The Republic Airways campus stands out due to its departure from most training facilities that tend to be more isolating.
“It’s much more urban,” said Boardman. “You’ve got really good connectivity between all the facilities.”
That connectivity is important, he noted, because it allows employees to move between buildings and offers flexibility with indoor spaces during harsh Indiana winters or outdoor spaces for the warmer months.
Plummer said the outdoor spaces are a significant addition to the campus, with lounge areas, sports courts and green space. A large courtyard features a massive digital screen.
“They can show sporting events or even air traffic,” he said. “The goal was to create a unifying moment.”
With the project nearing completion, aside from some additional hotel expansion underway, the design team notes that while the architecture is impressive, one of the most meaningful outcomes of the project is watching how it is used.
“To see the campus totally alive, 24/7 with people interacting, it’s pretty rewarding for us,” said Boardman.
