Wake Technical Community College: Health Sciences Building H

Wake Technical Community College

PHOTOS © JIM SINK

This new Health Sciences building greatly expands Wake Technical Community College’s (WTCC) capacity for rapidly growing programs which are vital to community health. This 67,000-square-foot building houses health sciences classrooms and laboratories for biology, microbiology, anatomy, and physiology studies, including a STEM lab shared among all programs.

The building, designed by LS3P Associates Ltd., maintains the natural area around its site on WTCC’s Raleigh, NC, campus, integrating deliberately with the woods around it and preserving large specimen trees and views to nature. The footprint works with the site’s topography, physical constraints, thoroughfare buffer and tree conservation areas, with a north/south orientation which captures views and provides a stream buffer. Additionally, the building serves as a connector along the pedestrian path between the east and west sides of campus; a pedestrian plaza to the west of the building provides a welcoming gathering place.

The LEED Silver project maximizes open space, preserves habitat and implements strategies for quality control of stormwater. Deep mullions on the east and west shade the curtain walls to minimize glare and solar heat gains, while sustainable materials provide a healthier interior environment. The curtain wall on the interior and exterior increases visibility and safety; occupants are able to see outside from all public spaces for wayfinding, daylighting and connection to nature. The building shifts orientation at the center to work with existing topography, minimizing the amount of cut and fill during the grading process.

The building’s form and materials palette complements the existing high-tech campus aesthetic, reinforcing a sense of campus identity and the college’s forward-looking vision. Dark masonry, precast concrete, metal panels and glass with a mix of grey and earth-toned hues continue the cohesive campus aesthetic. Other elements such as expanses of glass, louvers, shading devices, exterior columns and flat roofs mesh with the existing campus materials palette.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Springfield Breaks Ground on $53.7M Pipkin Middle School Rebuild

    Construction is underway on a new, state-of-the-art Pipkin Middle School in Springfield, Mo., a major step in Springfield Public Schools’ (SPS) long-term facility improvement plan, according to local news. The $53.7-million project officially broke ground in early June, following years of planning and community input aimed at modernizing aging infrastructure and addressing student capacity concerns.

  • ProTeam Launches GoFit 6 HEPA Backpack Vacuum

    Technology leader Emerson recently introduced the new ProTeam GoFit 6 HEPA backpack vacuum, according to a news release. The vacuum was designed to capture 99.97% of particulates down to 0.3 microns—including atmospheric hazards like lead dust, mold spores, and other particulates—through an advanced filtration system.

  • California High School Starts Construction on New CTE Building

    Analy High School, part of the West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) in Sebastopol, Calif., recently broke ground on a new Career Technical Education (CTE) Building, according to a news release. The 15,000-square-foot facility will offer specialized facilities for students in engineering, welding, culinary arts, agricultural sciences, and design thinking.

  • modern college building with circuit and brain motifs

    Anthropic Introduces Claude for Education

    Anthropic has launched a version of its Claude AI assistant tailored for higher education institutions. Claude for Education "gives academic institutions secure, reliable AI access for their entire community," the company said, to enable colleges and universities to develop and implement AI-enabled approaches across teaching, learning, and administration.

Digital Edition