aia nc headquarters...

location:North Carolina
est. completion date: TBD
project team:
Frank Harmon
Erin Sterling
Matthew Griffith
Ashley Ozburn
David Cole
Greg Bleam, Landscape Architect

project statement…

The late Samuel Mockbee, FAIA, once said the architectural profession should “challenge the status quo into making responsible environmental and social changes.” Inspired by this concept, our design for the new AIA NC Headquarters demonstrates healthy urbanism, which we define as:

• responding to, respecting, and conserving the urban site
• integrating building and landscape
• promoting both passive and technological sustainable design principles
• bringing activity and delight to the cityscape

The generative discipline for urbanism is architecture. Our design aspires to be a role model for healthy urbanism, both for chapter members and future development in downtown Raleigh. The previous headquarters did this by adaptively re-using an historic structure. The new headquarters faces a 21st Century challenge: the global necessity to conserve and protect our natural resources.

In our project, building and landscape are designed as one interlocking, interdependent system, deferring to the natural topography and reusing every shovelful of earth. Soil is removed from one position on the site to allow the structure’s narrow footprint to slip easily into its urban setting. This same soil is used elsewhere to create the elevated landscape. The innovative parking garden - where porous paving supports automobiles and functions as open, green space - eliminates storm water runoff and models an effective solution for parking needs. This strategy represents a new model for development throughout the city. The parking garden also provides an outdoor gathering space for Chapter and community events, expanding AIA NC’s outreach program.

The Headquarters building is a modern shell with a green heart. Clean lines, clear construction, a broad roof overhang, and careful fenestration distinguish the building in its context. The building is oriented on the site to protect the interior from the harsh summer sun and to make the most of natural day-lighting and ventilation, thus reducing energy consumption and costs. A modern aesthetic allows the roof to accommodate vegetation to filter rainwater, mitigate the heat-island effect in the inner city, and introduce the concept of green roofs to downtown Raleigh. A buried rainwater collection cistern captures every drop of rainwater on the site for reuse – another role model for the city as Raleigh continues to confront drought conditions.

The scale of the building focuses on site and street context. The north wall greets the Peace Street neighborhood at its natural grade – a friendly gesture – and establishes an urban edge along this rapidly developing transect of the city. Open porches on the south and west elevations welcome the community and underscore a sense of outreach. On the north end of the site, structure and landscape rise, both physically and symbolically, greeting the Government Complex along the higher elevation and forging a strong tie with the government entities there.

our design purpose…

The overriding objective of our concept is to demonstrate and encourage aesthetic and ecological integrity – to create a flagship for North Carolina architecture that is architecturally, environmentally, socially, and aesthetically inspiring.