The Academic Classroom Building at North Carolina A&T State University celebrates the natural and agrarian landscapes of North Carolina’s Piedmont region. Dark, iron-spot brick is used to establish a monolithic base inspired by granite outcroppings common to the Piedmont. Resting on this base are classrooms and offices clad in a pattern of glass and metal panel that reflect the regular geometries found within the agrarian region. Anchoring the southern end of the campus green, the building plays an important role in connecting campus paths and sightlines. The 75,000 sf program is arranged on three levels around a central atrium. Office and administrative spaces are concentrated in a narrow bar with northern views across the campus green. This section of the building is elevated on piloti to form a “front porch” condition, inviting students approaching from the campus green to enter the central atrium. Students walk from the cafeteria and library through a courtyard framed by two wings of the building. Large classroom spaces are organized at the ground level to form a plinth that slides into the contours of the site to form the base for smaller classrooms above. Circulation, informal meeting and study zones occupy the interstitial spaces between the formal program areas that surround the atrium.
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