Wake Technical Community College North Parking Deck

Architect: BBH Design (visit website)

Location: Raleigh, NC

100 Word Description: The design concept of the first parking deck on WTCC’s Northern LEED Campus is “filtered gatewayâ€. This idea sets a precedent for a future phase 2 parking structure that will complete the gateway in the densely wooded site. The new deck provides 514 spaces on the perimeter of campus to help meet the growing need for parking associated with an increase in student enrollment. The goal was to implement an environmentally sensitive strategy by building dense vertical parking structures in lieu of expansive surface lots. As a result, the minimized footprint preserves perimeter greenfields and reduces impervious pavement on campus.

Architect’s Statement: The primary design element of the deck is a perforated stainless steel skin that covers the majority of the deck. From the exterior, the skin provides a unique backdrop to site elements and reflects the colors of the environment. From the interior, the skin creates a veiled effect which opens views to the surrounding landscape.  Canted steel frames oriented in a pinwheel fashion provide the substrate for the stainless steel panels and allow direct views towards campus as students move through the deck to guide wayfinding. Two stair towers at opposite corners anchor the structure and signal entry locations at the campus’s southern edge. One tower signifies entry at a vehicular scale while the other signals a grand pedestrian gateway. Both towers are skinned in ACM panels and glazed aluminum curtainwall systems. Tectonically, selective areas of concrete were left exposed at the stair locations to reveal the structure behind the cladding systems. The overall structure is also revealed through the pattern of the perforated metal panels as well as the curtainwall system. Aluminum airfoil louvers indicate vehicle access and turn horizontally off the façade to help wayfinding. Architecturally, the louvers provide a visual break between the towers and perforated metal screens. A future pedestrian bridge and plaza will complete the connection from the campus edge through the woods to the main campus.

Type of Construction: Cast in place concrete, Stainless steel perforated and corrugated metal panels, Aluminum composite metal panel. Glazed Curtainwall System. The canted frame design provided the required free area in the event of an ice storm.

Photography: 2014, Tzu Chen Photography