This LEED NC 2.2 GOLD certified 57,085-SF classroom/office/auditorium building is situated on the edge of a lake on the campus of a university that is committed to sustainability. The exterior walls of the five-story post tension concrete building are of sand-blasted precast concrete.
The auditorium acts as a focal point of the building, housing both academic lectures and convocations of international educators and leaders. Its presence and function are evident from the exterior, as the large angular cantilevered form projects upward and outward from the lobby, creating an intimate shaded social space below that contrasts with the powerful form above. The angles of the auditorium’s exterior follow the lines of the seating inside.
The 9,900-SF extensive green roof atop the auditorium and lobby is visible from the offices and surrounding campus buildings. Roof plantings are native drought-tolerant plants that reduce the building’s heat island effect for its surroundings, and provides increased insulation benefits to the auditorium and lobby below.
The dynamic two-story lobby atrium sits between the angular cantilever of the auditorium volume and its counterbalance, the five-story classroom and office tower. The lobby supports multi-purpose functions and includes a media wall with programming about current events, the university and the building’s sustainability features. A lounge and outdoor terrace overlooking the pond supplements the lobby’s social space.
The five-story tower opposite the auditorium has two large classrooms at the ground floor, with terrace access. Above are classrooms of various sizes, graduate study suites and language labs. Faculty and Administration combine as a defined school of study on the upper three floors, overlooking the new courtyard and the Avenue of the Professions. A shared atrium with open stair fosters interaction between departments and promotes faster and healthier circulation between the levels.
View Original