Architect: Clark Nexsen
Project Location: Raleigh, NC
Project Completion Date: 2017
Short Description: Building-K is a multi-purpose classroom facility home to the Baking and Pastry Arts Program and the Health and Fitness Science Program at WTTC’s Northern Campus. The building sits at the entry of the new campus extension, serving as a link to the existing campus and a gateway to future development. The disparate pieces of program are organized into two main volumes. One volume houses commercial-grade culinary labs as well as faculty offices and classrooms. The other houses the health and fitness spaces. The two volumes are unified by a light-filled, three-story atrium that weaves circulation with multi-tiered, informal lounge areas.
Architect’s Statement: Building K is a versatile new facility that embodies Wake Tech’s vision to provide world-class programs and training to the community it serves. Reflective of the college’s focus on skilled trades programs, this dynamic, light-filled facility blends state-of-the-art commercial kitchens for the baking and pastry arts program with athletic space for NCAA sports and fitness science education spaces. Through a curriculum-centered design that emphasizes the learning experience, the teaching spaces support students’ ability to make immediate, meaningful contributions in their future careers. Equipped with a modern fitness lab, yoga and group exercise studios, a gymnasium, and locker and training rooms, the new facility provides an enriched physical education experience and offers a recruiting advantage for Wake Tech’s athletic programs. Home to basketball and women’s volleyball, the building’s gymnasium is equally capable of hosting NCAA sporting events as well as graduation ceremonies, career fairs, baking expos, and other similar functions. Embracing the synergies between these seemingly disparate programs was a central design challenge. Two volumes form the building mass, with one volume housing the baking and pastry arts space as well as faculty offices and classrooms, and the other volume housing the health and fitness science spaces. The volumes are unified by a light-filled, three-story atrium that weaves circulation with multi-tiered, informal lounge areas to create a welcoming social environment for students.
Type of Construction: Exterior materials draw from the campus’ distinct palette. An outer zinc shell stretches beyond each brick volume to create a 3-story high canopy that shelters both main entries along the atrium’s axis while filtering daylight from the resulting clerestory. Large openings are carved into the vertical zinc faces on the east and west elevations, revealing curtain wall articulated by deep vertical solar blades. A tiered plaza greets visitors while providing outdoor gathering spaces within its multileveled transition from the southeast corner up to the main entry. A smaller plaza at the north entry anticipates connection to future campus development.