Project Data:

Completion Date:     8/1/2019

Square Footage:      100000

Building Use:           Workplace

Project Description:

Situated between Durham and Chapel Hill North Carolina, the early 1970s, iconic modernist building, now known as the Parkline, is recognized for its long, floating rhomboid glass form. After the campus was purchased by a real estate firm the longevity of the unique architecture was called into question unless we could find a way to lease the massive, partially underground first floor. The multi-disciplinary design team studied the interior renovation potential and came to a solution that created occupiable space on the building’s first floor. Their solution involved removing the adjacent data center to open one side of the first floor, adding ample windows along the southern side of the first floor, and adding light monitors throughout the green roof meadow to add light from above. The landscape renovations reinforced the building’s relationship to the rest of the 39-acre bucolic landscape and included an entry garden, a gridded oak bosque, and one of the largest green roofs in the Carolinas.

The landscape architects created an intentional progression of spaces that highlighted the geometry of the building, starting with a shade entry garden located below the building’s expansive overhang. Opposite the entry garden is the southern-facing green roof meadow. Once a featureless concrete plaza, the more than 2-acre green roof is now a colorful and diverse array of gardens including drought-tolerant sedums and native grasses, and is made accessible to employees with walking paths, benches, and gathering spaces. The green roof meadow then descends into a lower-level bosque filled with oak trees, referencing the mature oaks that are prevalent on the campus landscape. Beneath the shade of the oaks and framed by remnant exterior walls, are spaces that encourage employee connection, recreation, and rejuvenation.

The multi-disciplinary approach between the interior designers, architects, graphic designers, and landscape architects successfully repositioned this building for the next era of tenants. The lower level, which was thought to be impossible to lease, was the first to secure tenants.

Framework for Design Excellence

Situated between Durham and Chapel Hill, this early 1970s, iconic modernist building, now known as the Parkline, is recognized for its long, rhomboid glass form. Floating above a 39-acre bucolic landscape, the building was purchased by State Employees Credit Union (SECU) for Class A multi-tenant office space and underwent a meticulous renovation. The design started with the interior lobby and quickly expanded to the surrounding site where the project team successfully executed entry gardens, one of the largest green roofs in the Carolinas and a gridded oak bosque.

SECU intended to maintain the unique exterior of the 43-year-old building but recognized a tremendous opportunity to situate the building in the landscape by transforming the spaces just below and adjacent. With the rhombus constructed of 5,000 panes of reflective glass, the design team knew the outdoors would literally reflect in the facade and needed to enhance the simplicity and scale of the structure while creating an amenity-rich workplace and showcasing the true balance of beauty and function through integration.

Landscape architects began with the entry experience, adding shade gardens just below the expansive building overhang. Accented with pea gravel and paved pathways, the entry gardens transition to flexible outdoor event and game spaces that bridge the building’s north and south sides. These spaces are often used for local events and meetings, supporting an equitable community.

On the south, a once expansive, featureless concrete plaza was transformed into a 90,000sf green roof meadow where employees can meander, collaborate, and rejuvenate. Plantings introduce a novel green roof plant community that features ornamental grasses in an offset grid, sedums adapted to the region and blooming perennials. The salvia, when in bloom, offers purple forms in the reflection of the building that are provocative of clouds and help form a relation between ground and sky. It’s no surprise that employees reported an increased sense of well-being due to the impressive landscape and outdoor spaces.

New pathways encourage exploration and give way to a lower-level bosque filled with oak trees, referencing the prevalent mature oaks on the campus. Beneath the shade of the oaks and framed by exterior walls, are outdoor exercise spaces, a food truck space, collaboration spaces and places of respite – a way for employees to find refuge outside of the office.

The entry gardens, plaza, and oak bosque offer unique garden “rooms” that maintain connections with the wider campus landscape while creating a sequence of experiences and microclimates for employees and visitors. The use of local fauna and resources for the project benefits the ecosystem in a stunning yet functional way. The renovation has successfully attracted tenants and created a landmark project for the area of Chapel Hill.

Firm Name:              Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Inc.

Completion Date:     8/1/2019

Square Footage:      100000

Building Use:           Workplace

Location:                 1830 Fordham Blvd, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Design Architect:
Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Inc.

Associate Architect or Firm:

Landscape Architect:
Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Inc.

Owner / Developer:
State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU)

Engineer:
Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Inc.

General Contractor:
Barnhill Contracting Company

Consultant:
Davis Landscaping Ltd (Landscape Contractor)
JLL (Leasing and Building Manager)
Ballentine Associates PA (Civil Engineer)

Photographer:
Ryan Ives (all outdoor photos)
Barnhill Contracting Company (Drone Shot)