sustainable design :: blueplate PR

Design Development Begins on Kidzu Children’s Museum in Chapel Hill

Categories: Frank Harmon, Frank Harmon Architect PA
Comments (0)

September 13, 2012 (Chapel Hill, NC) — Design workshops begin this week on the larger, permanent home for Kidzu Children’s Museum in Chapel Hill, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to be designed by the multi-award-winning architectural firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh. The design team includes two other nationally acclaimed design firms: The Portico Group from Seattle Washington and MIG from Berkeley California.

The new, larger museum will be built atop the Wallace Plaza rooftop parking deck between East Rosemary and East Franklin streets in downtown Chapel Hill.

Founded on the premise that early learning experiences are critical to later life success, and that children learn best through play, Kidzu is currently located in University Square at 123-B West Franklin Street. Since it opened in 2006, the museum has welcomed 175,000 vistors. In 2009, the Town of Chapel Hill gave Kidzu a 99-year lease for the parking deck roof site for $1 per year as a historic public–nonprofit partnership. On this site, Kidzu will be able to increase the size of its facility substantially, both inside and out, with ample room for future growth.

Frank Harmon’s firm is well known for its modern, sustainable, and regionally appropriate designs for educational purposes, such as the Walnut Creek Wetlands Park in Raleigh and the Children’s Nature Zoo at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. And as he did with those projects, Harmon will facilitate a series of design workshops, beginning this week, so that museum staff and community members from a wide range of backgrounds – including children — have opportunities for input.

The Harmon/Portico/MIG team is now challenged with accommodating a variety of design imperatives. They are to create:

· An iconic facility that attracts visitors, reflects Kidzu’s identity as a playful, educational institution, and serves as a centerpiece for downtown Chapel Hill.

· A museum-as-educational-tool — an environment that not only facilitates learning but also serves as a teaching tool, sharing lessons about design, engineering, art, environmental stewardship, history, culture and other relevant topics.

· Space with abundant creativity, incorporating works of art and a wide range of creative elements.

· A sustainable building that follows LEED standards and incorporates lessons about green design and sustainability.

· A healthy environment for visitors that inspires physical activity and other healthy habits.

· Connections to nature, both inside and out, through the use of natural light, natural materials, an abundance of plants, water elements, and related natural components.

· A flexible environment (building, exhibits and site) to allow the museum to serve as many functions as possible and to meet unanticipated future needs.

· A “living museum” that can evolve over time by combining flexibility, design for change, and the use of natural elements.

· An environment that complements and relates to the historic surroundings, while also responding to the future in its design and function.

· A playful and engaging environment designed with the needs of children in mind that also feels welcoming to adults, who comprise half of Kidzu’s visitors. The museum should be whimsical and playful and appealing to adults.

The Board of Directors anticipates completion of the new museum by 2015. For more information on Kidzu Children’s Museum, go to www.kidzuchildrensmuseum.org.

For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit www.frankharmon.com.

About Frank Harmon Architect PA:

Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, is also a Professor in Practice at NC State University. In 2011, his firm was ranked 21st out of the top 50 firms in the nation by Architect magazine and Harmon was included in Residential Architect’s recent “RA 50: The short list of architects we love.” His firm’s work has been featured in numerous books, magazines, journals and online magazines on architecture, including ArchDaily.com, Dwell, Architectural Record, Architect, and Residential Architect. For more information, go to www.frankharmon.com and find the firm on Facebook.

Walking The Talk: Frank Harmon Moves Offices Into AIANC Center for Architecture and Design

Categories: Frank Harmon, Frank Harmon Architect PA
Comments (0)

AIANC Center for Architecture and Design

The award-winning firm relocates to the third floor of the “greenest”building in Raleigh.

August 1, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) — “We loved the building so much that we’re moving in!”

That’s the announcement architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, sent this week to clients, consultants, and other contacts as he announced that his firm, Frank Harmon Architect PA, has moved into the third floor of the AIANC Center for Architecture and Design in downtown Raleigh – the building he designed for the American Institute of Architects’ North Carolina chapter.

Harmon’s firm now occupies 1750 square feet of the top floor of this thoroughly modern, thoroughly sustainable building on the corner of Peace and Wilmington streets, near the Government Complex.

“And what a space it is,” Harmon said. “It consumes half the energy of an ordinary office building, it has windows on every side so we can work in natural daylight and with natural ventilation during nice weather, its roof collects rainwater for watering the gardens, and, best of all, it’s beautiful.”

Harmon stresses that the building demonstrates AIANC’s commitment to energy efficient, environmentally sustainable buildings, both now and in the future. “Sustainability is arguably the most important issue of our time,” he noted.

By moving his firm into the building, he is also demonstrating his personal commitment to “green” architecture and construction, which, he believes, is not a luxury but an imperative.

“As we come out of the recession, we won’t be building in the same wasteful ways,” Harmon told a group of national media who visited the new AIANC Center in May. “With new emphasis on alternative energy and sustainable design, the AIANC Center shows us a new way to build.”

Frank Harmon Architect PA is a multi-award-winning firm previously headquartered in an old, “recycled” electronics warehouse at 706 Mountford Avenue in Raleigh’s historic Boylan Heights neighborhood. That space functioned as an open studio in which each member of the design team worked closely and personally with each other and with their clients.

According to Harmon, the firm’s new offices function exactly the same, yet within the comfort of a new, environmentally sustainable structure with a panoramic view all the way to the State Capitol.

The AIANC board of directors had to approve the lease to Harmon’s firm. According to David Crawford, AIA NC executive vice president, the vote to welcome Harmon to the building was unanimous.

The firm’s new address is 14 East Peace Street, Raleigh, NC 27604. The phone numbers will remain the same (919-829-9464; fax: 919.829.2202). For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit www.frankharmon.com.

For more information on the AIANC Center for Architect and Design, go to www.cfadnc.org.

About Frank Harmon, FAIA:

Frank Harmon, FAIA, is a Professor in Practice at NC State University and was the 1995 recipient of the Kamphoefner Prize for Distinguished Design over a Ten-Year Period. He founded his firm, Frank Harmon Architect PA, in 1985. In 2011, his firm was ranked 21st out of the top 50 firms in the nation by Architect magazine, and was included in Residential Architect magazine’s “RA 50: The Short List of Architects We Love.” Harmon’s work has been featured in numerous books, magazines and journals on architecture, including Dwell, Architectural Record, Architect, Residential Architect, Custom Homes, and ArchDaily.com. For more information, go to www.frankharmon.com.

WCU Health & Human Sciences Building Goes For The Silver

Categories: Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee
Comments (0)

The new building should be the university’s first LEED-certified

The Health & Human Services building nearing completion.

structure.

March 16, 2012 (Asheville, NC) — Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee’s Asheville architecture studio is currently submitting documentation to prove that Western Carolina University’s new Health & Human Sciences building complies with LEED Silver standards.

The $46 million, four-level, 160,000-square-foot building will be WCU’s first LEED-rated structure.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a points-based certification program administered by the United States Green Building Council that recognizes buildings’ environmental conservation and sustainability on four levels: basic certification 40 – 49 points; Silver, 50 – 59 points; Gold, 60 – 79 points; and Platinum, 80 points and above.

The university, located in Cullowhee, NC, asked architects Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee (PBC+L) to aim for LEED Silver with the design and construction of the building, which is currently completing construction on WCU’s West Campus. It’s expected to open for classes this fall.

“The new Health and Human Sciences Building is another great example of our commitment to systematically integrating sustainability at WCU,” Lauren Bishop, the university’s energy manager, told The Reporter, WCU’s faculty and staff news.

The building’s array of energy conserving and sustainability features includes:

Reflective roof and usable rooftop garden to alleviate heat gain and the “heat island” effect, and to filter rain water.
A series of sand filters and bio-retention ponds near the building to minimize polluting storm water runoff.
Orientation of windows and sunscreens to maximize natural lighting and natural ventilation.
Carefully managed construction process to recycle over 50 percent of waste and scraps.
Interior materials that are comprised of recycled content and/or available regionally.
A hydroelectric power and electric heat system to reduce the amount of copper piping needed compared to a typical building of the same size.
Occupancy sensors for the lighting system to reduce energy use.
Low-flow toilets and other plumbing fixtures that use 41 percent less water than would a typical building that size.
A mechanical system with an individualized temperature control to use 20 percent less energy.
All-native plants and trees in the landscaping.
Windows are placed to maximize natural lighting and ventilation.

“The natural light systems designed not only reduce energy consumption and costs but also improve human performance,” said Linda Seestedt-Stanford, dean of the College of Health and Human Services. “The rooftop garden provides a green space for gathering while also contributing to better air quality, storm water management and absorption of solar radiation. By protecting the environment, we benefit the health and wellness of the individuals who use it and also support the health of our community.”

Chad Roberson, principal in charge of the project, and Sara Melanson, project architect, expect the building to receive LEED Silver certification by the end of the year. For more information on PBC+L, visit www.pbclarchitecture.com

For more information on the WCU College of Health & Human Services, go to http://www.wcu.edu/2215.asp.

About Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee:

Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee (PBC+L) is an award-winning, full-service architectural firm specializing in academic and cultural arts projects. PBC+L has offices in Raleigh and Asheville, North Carolina. The firm’s work has been published in numerous professional journals and the firm was ranked 23^rd in Architecture magazine’s Top 50 Firms in the nation. For more information, visit www.pbclarchitecture.com or find the firm on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

PBC+L To Sponsor Ninth Annual Urban Design Conference

Categories: Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee
Comments (0)

In support of the theme “Urban Reset: Green, Smart, Just”

March 12, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee (PBC+L), an award-winning architecture firm with offices in Raleigh and Asheville, NC, has signed on to sponsor the ninth annual Urban Design Conference to be held in the Raleigh Convention Center on March 17 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Urban Design Conference is presented by the NC State University College of Design in conjunction with the City of Raleigh’s Department of City Planning, the Urban Design Center, and NC State Foundation.

This year’s conference, entitled “Urban Reset: Green, Smart, Just,” will focus on methods for designing more carbon neutral, technologically advanced, and socially equitable buildings in urban centers.

PBC+Lis well known for its commitment to sustainable design. Among other “green” projects, PBC+L designed Carrington Hall at UNC-Chapel Hill, the first building in the 17-campus UNC system to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accreditation. The firm also designed buildings for Wake Technical Community College’s Northern Wake Campus, the first LEED-rated multi-building community college campus in the nation.

Doug Brinkley, FAIA

PBC+L principal and partner Doug Brinkley, FAIA, was elevated to Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects based entirely upon his advocacy for sustainable design and construction practices through education, legislative advocacy, and architectural design.

“It is both a natural extension of our firm’s efforts and an honor to support the Urban Design Conference,” said Brinkley, who also serves as the firm’s sustainability officer, “especially this year when its mission is to challenge participants to lead this region toward world-class urban design that is smart, sustainable, and just.”

The Conference is presented in concert with the fifth annual Growing in Place Symposium to be held the day before, on March 16, at the Marbles Museum in downtown Raleigh. The theme for that event is “Design for Children, Families, and Nature in the City.”

For more information on the ninth annual Urban Design Conference, go to www.ncsu.edu/project/design-projects/urban-design-conference/.

For more information on Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee, visit www.pbclarchitecture.com.

About Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee:

Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee (PBC+L) is an award-winning, full-service architectural firm specializing in academic and cultural arts projects. PBC+L has offices in Raleigh and Asheville, North Carolina. The firm’s work has been published in numerous professional journals and was ranked 23^rd in Architecture magazine’s Top 50 Firms in the nation. For more information, visit www.pbclarchitecture.com or find the firm on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Frank Harmon Architect PA Welcomes New Team Member

Categories: architecture, environmentalism, green architecture, modern architecture, news, people
Comments (0)

Project manager Tika Hicks joins the award-winning firm.

Project manager/designer Tika Hicks joins Harmon's award-winning team.

March 15, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon Architect PA of Raleigh, NC, has announced that project manager/designer Tika Hicks of Raleigh has joined the firm’s award-winning team.

Hicks brings 12 years of experience in architectural project management, design and production services to the firm, which includes educational/institutional, commercial and residential projects, as well as historic preservation. Among other notable projects, she was instrumental in the restoration of the modernist Henry Kamphoefner residence and in its subsequent renovation/addition in conjunction with the late North Carolina State University’s College of Design Professor Robert Burns, FAIA.

Born in Chicago, Hicks grew up in Ithaca, New York, and moved to Raleigh in 1989. She attended Pennsylvania State University, where she concentrated in architecture, design and sculpture. She then studied abroad in Florence, Italy, before entering the N.C. State University College of Design, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Design in Architecture.

Hicks’ previous work experience includes stints with Raleigh firms Kurt Eichenberger, AIA, Richard Hall Associates, Clearscapes, and Cannon Architects, and with the Chapel Hill firm Lucy Carol Davis Architects.

Harmon’s firm’s reputation for innovative, sustainable and regionally appropriate design led Hicks to his office.

“I want to be part of a great team that creates excellent and exciting projects that contribute to the sustainability of the built environment,” she said recently. “A huge part of why I’m here is because I want to work on projects that change and improve the built environment. Frank was ‘green’ before ‘green’ was ‘green.’ I couldn’t be happier to be a part of his team.”

Hicks has already been assigned to work on several of Harmon’s projects that are in design development or construction, including the Shellfish Research Hatchery at UNC-Wilmington, the site plan and new facilities for the Audubon Sanctuary on Pine Island, NC, the United Therapeutics Field House in Durham, and Riverworks in Jacksonville where a former wastewater treatment plant is being converted into an Environmental and Education Center.

For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit www.frankharmon.com.

About Frank Harmon Architect PA:

Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, is also a Professor in Practice at NC State University and a frequent speaker at AIA and other design conventions and conferences throughout the US and Canada. In 2010, his firm was ranked 13^th out of the top 50 firms in the nation by Architect magazine and Harmon was included in Residential Architect’s recent “RA 50: The short list of architects we love.” His firm’s work has been featured in numerous books, magazines, journals and online magazines on architecture, including ArchDaily.com, Dwell, Architectural Record, Architect, and Residential Architect. For more information, go to www.frankharmon.com.

Construction Begins On AIA NC’s New, “Green” Headquarters

Categories: architecture, business, downtown Raleigh, environmentalism, garden design, green architecture, land planning, landscape architecture, modern architecture
Comments (0)

Future LEED- Platinum building breaks ground in downtown Raleigh.

December 8, 2010 (RALEIGH, NC) – After two years of planning and waiting for financing, the North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects will finally hold its official, public groundbreaking ceremony for its new headquarters building and design center on Thursday, December 9, at 11:30 a.m. The building will be constructed on an oddly shaped, previously unused lot on Peace and Wilmington streets between Peace College and the NC Government Complex.

Designed by Frank Harmon Architect PA after the firm won a professional competition for the project in 2008, the AIA NC Center for Architecture & Design will be “a modern building with a green heart,” as Frank Harmon, FAIA, likes to call it.

The building has been designed to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards at the highest Platinum level, and AIA Committee On The Environment (COTE) goals, which include regional appropriateness and the use of regionally available materials, land use and site ecology, sustainable materials and methods of construction, reduced water usage, and increased energy efficiency.

“As we come out of the recession, we won’t be building in the same wasteful ways,” Harmon said. “With new emphasis on alternative energy and sustainable design, the AIA NC Center will show us a new way to build.”

Harmon also believes the Center will be a compelling example for responsible revitalization of the cores of towns and cities across the state, including Raleigh.

“It will demonstrate sustainable urban development and put Raleigh ‘on the map’ as a leader in this endeavor,” he noted, “from re-using every shovel of earth removed for the footprint, to the porously paved parking garden and state-of-the-art ‘green’ technology.”

Deferring to the natural topography, the new building will be situated along the edge of the property and porously paved so that the majority of the site will be park-like – a public park in an area of the city that doesn’t have one. This will provide an outdoor gathering space for AIA NC and community events and effectively expand AIA NC’s outreach program.

“One of AIA NC’s goals is to contribute to the vitality of that section of downtown by transforming an awkward, unused piece of property into a ‘people center’ that will, in turn, impact the businesses around it,” Harmon said.

Architecturally, the overriding objective of the building’s concept is “to demonstrate and encourage aesthetic and ecological integrity – to create a flagship for green architecture in North Carolina that is architecturally, environmentally, socially, and aesthetically inspiring,” Harmon said.

Construction should be completed in 10-12 months.

For more information on the building’s design, visit www.frankharmon.com/current/3/. For more information on AIA NC, visit www.aianc.org.

“Green” Charleston House Featured on “Architects + Artisans”

Categories: architecture, environmentalism, green architecture, modern architecture
Comments (0)

February 4, 2010 (CHARLESTON, SC) – A modern, “green” house on Johns Island, designed by Charleston architect Whitney Powers, AIA, of Studio A, Inc., is featured on Architects + Artisans: Thoughtful Design for a Sustainable World, a new blog written and edited by J. Michael Welton.

The 5000-square-foot house rests along the edge of Penney Creek. Working with clients who wanted to make the house as “green” as possible, Powers specifies a host of “green” features, including a geothermal heating and cooling system, a vegetated roof, recycled materials wherever possible, and rain water collection cisterns to provide irrigation for the landscaping.

Architects + Artisans’ article primarily focuses on Powers’ use of “new and old materials, inside and out, in unexpected, innovative and subtly surprising ways,” Welton writes.

One of the new exterior materials is Eternit, rain-screen panels that, along with large expanses of glass, cover the creek-facing façade. The panels prevent moisture buildup – an important asset within Charleston’s humid coastal climate. Welton spoke with Powers about the material, which architects concerned with sustainability consider a high-performance envelope.

“It’s been used in Europe for years,” Powers told him. “It extends the life of the siding and everything behind it. It keeps things dry and allows the air space to breathe.”

An interior material that caught Welton’s attention is century-old white pine salvaged from the homeowners’ barns in Kentucky, which Powers says were milled specifically for this application.

Welton praises the architecture of the Charleston house as “a design that responds sensitively to its low-country site and reaches back gracefully to its bluegrass roots – while binding all together with materials meant to please the eye.”

To read the entire article, visit architectsandartisans.com and click on the headline “Kentucky Roots, South Carolina Charm.”

For more information on Studio A, Inc., go to www.studioa-architecture.com.

About Studio A, Inc.:

Founded in 1989 by Whitney Powers, AIA, Studio A, Inc. is an award-winning, full-service architecture firm located in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. The firm proposes that the responsibility of architecture is to cultivate a language of form that promotes a sustainable culture and landscape, and that touches the emotions of delight, surprise and wonder. From cutting-edge contemporary architecture to the preservation and restoration of historic homes, structures and sites, Studio A is committed to an interactive relationship between the natural and built environments, conservation of energy and natural resources, and an appreciation for a “sense of place” where living, working and playing are connected with the specific idiosyncrasies of culture, climate and natural landscape where they take place. The firm includes Heritage Strategy Group, a planning initiative that elaborates upon issues of the natural landscape through the lens of recreational resources and scenic byways.

About Architects+Artisans:

Architects + Artisans is a sophisticated, well-informed provider of content, images, and knowledge concerning excellent architecture, artisanship and sustainability for the 21st century. It is not just about designers – but about the people and products that make a well-designed place ring true. It is written and edited by J. Michael Welton, whose work on architecture, design and travel has appeared in The New York Times, Interior Design, Dwell, Green Source and Travel + Leisure. Visit http://architectsandartisans.com.