Project Description

Wake Technical Community College’s Northern Wake Campus is a new commuter campus in Raleigh, North Carolina. Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee developed the master plan for the 121 acre campus, which is the first all-LEED multi-building community college campus in the United States. Set amid pine forests and bordered by the Neuse River, the campus master plan employs a planning strategy that layers the site from the outside in so that automobiles remain isolated along the perimeter while pedestrian pathways engage open spaces and lush wetlands and forests in the site’s inner core. Two existing academic buildings sit on the western-most portion of the site, with Building D located just to their east and above a landscaped wetland area. Together, the three bar-shaped buildings create a continuous built perimeter around a landscaped pedestrian realm of hardscape and elm trees fronting a terraced lawn that slopes down toward a pond and wetlands.

Building D is oriented with its long axis running east-west to maximize interior daylight and to capture views of the gently sloping outdoor spaces. Just as the site master plan is a concentrically layered composition, the building is also layered with private cellular spaces (offices, mechanical, storage) facing outward and larger, more public spaces (classrooms, science labs, lobbies and cafe) focused on the plaza and terraced lawn. Pathways weave in and out of these interior-facing public spaces and their open plan and material transparency eliminate the distinctions between building and site.

The material selection responds to both program and site conditions while also valuing longevity and durability. Concrete masonry units and glass-fiber reinforced concrete panels provide a strong base for the building and anchor it to the site’s undulating topography. The upper levels are comprised of aluminum and glass curtain wall, lending a sense of transparency to the building. An aluminum composite panel structure frames the curtain wall and entry.

Sustainable Features

•  The sum of the post consumer recycled content plus half of the pre-consumer content constituted over 40% of the total value of the materials in the project.

•  Over 40% of the building materials were harvested and manufactured within 500 miles of the project site.

•   Energy usage was reduced by 28% over the ASHRAE baseline by using condensing boilers, high performance chillers, automatic day lighting systems and designing the building envelope to respond to its orientation and environment.

•   Daylighting and views to the outside are provided to 90% of the occupied spaces.

•   Glazing was eliminated on the east and west facades to minimize summer heat gain. To reduce lighting costs, glazing was maximized on the north and south.

•  Heat gain and glare on the southern exposure is controlled via a ten foot roof overhang used in conjunction with horizontal sun screens, high performance glass and sensors that dim or brighten the artificial light in response to the amount of natural light that enters the glass.