In 2012 Wake Tech Community College began a significant expansion of their North Campus to meet the needs of a growing region and demand for education and training services. In an effort to densify the campus, the long-term master plan called for these new facilities to displace existing surface parking and provide new structured parking at the perimeter of campus.
The Scott Northern Wake Campus has the distinction of being the first college or university campus in the U.S. where all academic buildings are LEED certified. All buildings are sited around a protected wetland that runs through the middle of campus and are oriented in the east/west direction to take full advantage of northern and southern daylight exposure, as well as views to the wetland.
The new parking deck takes cues from this attitude toward the environment and natural landscape. It is located at the southern edge of the campus next to an existing parking deck. Pedestrian access to the academic buildings occurs through a shared courtyard between decks and across a pedestrian bridge spanning the wetland. The deck is enclosed in custom corrugated stainless steel panels that shift and slide to provide natural ventilation and dappled sunlight inspired by the shadows of the natural woodland beyond. The paneled enclosure opens up on the north to provide expansive views of the woods.
High-recycled content materials such as concrete and aluminum are used throughout. Furthering the sustainable measures on campus, the structure was designed to accommodate future car-charging stations as well as a photovoltaic array that will cover the entire top level of parking.
Due to escalation in construction costs, the overall budget was reduced by approximately 10 percent at the end of construction documentation. In collaboration with the metal panel supplier, Clark Nexsen used parametric modeling software to study cost effective strategies for reducing the quantity of metal panel cladding while minimizing the impact to aesthetics and the overall building concept.
Awards
AIA Triangle Merit Award, 2020
AIA South Atlantic Region Honor Award, 2019
AIA Virginia Merit Award, 2019
AIA North Carolina Honor Award, 2018
