Lilly Science and Technology Center
What
Where
When
For
With
Where
When
For
With
Higher Ed Building
Research Triangle Park
2015
Wake Tech Comm. College
O’Brien Atkins
Research Triangle Park
2015
Wake Tech Comm. College
O’Brien Atkins
Wake Technical Community College asked O’Brien Atkins to design the second building for their Research Triangle campus while simultaneously re-developing the layout of their master plan. The Town of Morrisville’s Universal Development Ordinance had exceptionally conservative criteria for what a building can look like in terms of the facade materials and composition. This had to be reconciled with the College’s desire to establish a more progressive identity than the first campus building, especially within a prominent neighborhood of innovative technology companies in the Research Triangle area. To do this, the new building uses its older sibling as a material and formal precedent to establish a coherent palette for the campus, but it demploys a more liberal use of metal and glass in a dynamic pattern that also reflects the interior program.
This 66,000 sf building hosts a variety of classrooms, labs, offices, and various collaboration spaces. Most of this program is contained within its floating, angular envelope suspended above the pedestrian realm to elevate, protect, and exhibit these cherished learning spaces. The building’s footprint also borrows an angle from the existing building to funnel visitors from parking areas into the courtyard where the relationship between the buildings can be better experienced, creating the beginning of the campus form.
This 66,000 sf building hosts a variety of classrooms, labs, offices, and various collaboration spaces. Most of this program is contained within its floating, angular envelope suspended above the pedestrian realm to elevate, protect, and exhibit these cherished learning spaces. The building’s footprint also borrows an angle from the existing building to funnel visitors from parking areas into the courtyard where the relationship between the buildings can be better experienced, creating the beginning of the campus form.
