Wake Technical Community College, Health Sciences 2 Building

Raleigh, North Carolina

Firm

BBH Design, PA

Client

Wake Technical Community College

Area

97,980 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$19,600,000

Completion Date

08/2012

Designed to achieve LEED gold certification, the new five-story Health Sciences 2 Building supports Wake Tech’s nursing and health science programs with specialized simulation training facilities, large tiered instructional spaces, general classrooms, informal study spaces and administrative support areas. While providing new spaces for expanding programs, the facility serves as a catalyst for campus reorganization to increase departmental efficiencies, provide additional growth space, and create a new heart for the Health Sciences Campus.

During the programming phase, campuswide departmental space usage was analyzed to determine which programs would best occupy the new facility and how remaining departments would consolidate into existing facilities.

Nestled into a dramatically sloping wooded site, the building’s design and massing mimics the filtered light found at the base of a tree canopy. Public spaces spill out onto exterior plazas and terraces, and learning environments feature campus views and filtered daylighting. Additionally, the project creates improved traffic and pedestrian patterns that enhance campus safety, increase structured commuter parking, and establish a central plaza that galvanizes the Health Sciences Campus identity.