Awards
2014 AIA Triangle Honor Award
2013 AIA North Carolina Honor Award
2013 USGBC North Carolina Sustainable Award
Located on the banks of Roanoke Island in North Carolina, the Coastal Studies Institute Research Building is surrounded by vast expanses of wetlands and sweeping views of the Croatan Sound. The mission of the facility is to be a model of sustainability in its response to the land and water. LEED Gold certified, the facility includes classrooms, research labs, and offices.
An existing canal governs its simple bent form aligning the building with the canal capturing views of the water and sky. The building is elevated on piloti touching the ground lightly and interacts with the landscape through its site walls, natural lawns, and covered outdoor spaces.
The UNC Coastal Studies Institute Research Building is the first building on this new research and teaching campus within the University of North Carolina system. The campus is the product of a partnership between the UNC Office of the President, East Carolina University, Dare County and its citizens and other universities of the UNC system.