Clark Nexsen Wins Four 2018 AIA North Carolina Design Awards
Clark Nexsen received four 2018 design excellence awards from the American Institute of Architects North Carolina Chapter at an awards ceremony held October 19 in Durham. From 84 entries spanning public, private, and educational design by AIA North Carolina architects, the jury selected eight projects to receive awards.
Honor Award – Blue Ridge Orthodontics
Transparency, views, and an unexpected warmth define the Blue Ridge Orthodontics’ new office in Asheville. Wood tones, easy wayfinding, and a variety of comfortable seating convey an atmosphere more consistent with a spa than an orthodontist’s office. The juxtaposition of a soaring roof and a sculptural, layered wall facilitates the connection between interior and exterior, while a stepped, stone-clad perimeter wall anchors the building on its site.
Honor Award – Wake Tech Parking Deck 2
Parking Deck 2 at Wake Tech’s Scott Northern Wake campus in Raleigh features custom fabricated steel panels. This highly polished surface reflects the colors of the sky and surrounding trees. The panels create enclosure on three sides, but are kept open on the fourth side, providing expansive views of a natural buffer area. Stair towers are conceived as light lanterns that float above the ground plane.
Merit Award – Wake Tech Building K
Building K is a dynamic, multipurpose classroom facility at Wake Tech’s Scott Northern Wake campus in Raleigh that blends state-of-the-art commercial kitchens for the baking and pastry arts program with athletic space for NCAA sports and fitness science education. The two volumes are unified by a light-filled three-story atrium that weaves circulation with multi-tiered informal lounge areas.
Merit Award – Abbotts Creek Community Center
Located on a former landfill site and beside an elementary school, Abbotts Creek Community Center transforms an abandoned piece of land into a thriving community park for healthy living and learning in Raleigh. The center’s composition interlocks with the adjacent elementary school and creates a series of indoor and outdoor gathering spaces that transform the forgotten site. A delicate screen encompasses the upper volume and creates a veil that illuminates the public spaces and defines the entrance to the new community campus.
Matthew Huft, AIA, served as jury chair with Jonathan O’Neal Cole, AIA, founding principal of Pendulum Studio; Trevor Hoiland, AIA, design manager at Burns & McDonnell; Angie Geist Gaebler, AIA, principal at STRATA Architecture + Preservation; and Amy Slattery, AIA, founder of Odimo.
See the full list of Honor Awards and Merit Awards.
All photos © Mark Herboth Photography
