Duke University

Duke University’s Ocean Conservation Center Achieves LEED Platinum

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The highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.

Duke University Ocean Conservation Center
Duke’s Ocean Conservation Center in Beaufort, NC.

Raleigh architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of Frank Harmon Architect PA, recently learned that the Ocean Conservation Center (OCC) his firm designed in Beaufort, NC, for Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment Marine Laboratory has achieved LEED Platinum certification.

Platinum is the highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification that the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) awards.

Located on Piver’s Island at the head of the Beaufort Inlet, the OCC provides state-of-the-art teaching facilities for the Duke Marine Lab while identifying and demonstrating innovative, environmentally sound design and construction technology.

Duke University Ocean Conservation Center
The OCC’s glass-enclosed common area.

The 5000-square-foot building’s angular design responds directly to the site along the edge of the island. The shape defers to prevailing southwest breezes blowing in from the channel and allows natural illumination to serve as primary task lighting in every interior space. It also creates a very natural open, inner courtyard for the campus.

The channel side of the building features a large, wooden porch just outside of a glass-enclosed common area, which provides panoramic views of the natural surroundings. The wood-shingled exterior complements the coastal context and the roof’s deep overhang protects the interior from the hot summer sun.

The building is designed and engineered to resist hurricane-force winds in excess of 125 mph — a very real threat in Beaufort, NC. Building materials include wood, wood shingles, glass, and cement panels. The fully designed wood frame is comprised of Atlantic white cedar, recycled wood, and Southern yellow pine. State-of-the-art green features include photovoltaic rooftop panels for converting sunlight into electricity, a solar hot water system, a vegetated roof and rain water collection cistern, and high-efficiency ground-coupled heat pumps. Recycled and local materials were used wherever possible.

Landscaping includes a large, new dune that directs the wind over the building, rather than directly at it, and protects other all-native landscaping features.

Earning LEED Platinum certification is a comprehensive process. A project must meet all requirements during a rigorous evaluation of building system efficiency, sustainability, water efficiency, materials used for construction, and environmental quality. Architect and client must be fully committed to sustainability and the process.

LEED certification is recognized across the globe as the premier mark of achievement in green building. For more information: www.usgbc.org/leed.

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

About Frank Harmon, FAIA:

Frank Harmon, FAIA, is principal of the multi-award-winning firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, a Professor in Practice at NC State University’s College of Design, and the 2013 winner of AIA North Carolina’s F. Carter Williams Gold Medal, the highest honor presented by the Chapter to an AIA NC member to recognize a distinguished career and extraordinary accomplishments as an architect. In 2010 Harmon was included in Residential Architect’s inaugural “RA 50: The Short List of Architects We Love.” In 2013, his firm was ranked 21st among the top 50 firms in the nation by Architect Magazine. Frank Harmon is also the author and illustrator for NativePlaces.org, a series in which he uses hand-drawn sketches and mini-essays to examine the relationship between nature and built structures. For more information: www.frankharmon.com. Contact information: frank@frankharmon.com; 919.829.9464; 14 East Peace Street, Raleigh, NC 27604.

 

 

 

Kenneth Hobgood Architects Renovates, Enlarges A Classic Fifties Modern House

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Sensitive phased project respects the architectural integrity of the original residence.

July 13, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – Kenneth E. Hobgood Architects in Raleigh recently

1950s photo of the northern elevation.

completed the renovation phase of an exemplary, mid-century modern house in Durham and is about to begin construction on phase two: a 1200-square-foot addition that will honor, without imitating, the original house.

When new owners and Duke University professors Mimi and Mark Hansen hired the firm to renovate and enlarge the 2337-square-foot house that architect Kenneth Scott, AIA, designed for Binford and John Carr in 1958, the design team immediately recognized the challenges they faced.

“We knew it was going to be difficult because of our respect for the original house,” said project architect Bob Thomas, AIA, a principal in the firm. “This was a renovation, not a restoration, so it needed to accommodate a family of five, including three young children, and lifestyle changes from the Fifties to today. So we had to strike a balance between opening up the space yet transforming the interior respectfully.”

As for the addition: “It was challenging, and interesting, to add onto a house we

CG rendering of the addition with the cantilevered office at night.

respect so much without mimicking, or repeating, what’s there,” said Kenneth Hobgood, FAIA, principal. “We knew the idea had to come from the existing house, in terms of materials, scale and siting. We also knew we had to be very careful since the new owners hope to have the house designated as an historic property.”

According to Thomas, the renovation involved preserving the fundamentals of the mid-century house – the carport and enclosed courtyard entry, the floor plan organization, the cruciform footprint, and the planar language of the house (interior spaces are defined by brick planes) — while enlarging the kitchen and bringing the house up to current building codes.

By relocating a staircase in the middle of the house that once led to the basement, the firm made the kitchen not only larger but literally the center of the house. This also allowed them to remove walls that made the kitchen an enclosed room and visually connect to it the rest of the living spaces as is more typical of modern residential design.

“Where we did intervene, we made it more of a true modern house,” Thomas noted.

The living room, a glass-fronted space that overlooks the rebuilt deck outside under the house’s deep roof overhangs, was touched very lightly, he said. “Other than cosmetic upgrades, the living room is perfect the way it is. We couldn’t do anything to make it better.”

The original house is organized so that living spaces are on the northern side of the east-west axis/circulation hall with bedrooms on the southern, street-facing side. A hallway/gallery leading to the bedrooms features a glass wall overlooking the courtyard.

The addition will continue this organizational plan, including a glass-fronted gallery. This gallery, however, will also be a 25-foot-long bridge between the old house and the new addition, following the original east-west axis and circulation pattern.

“We talked the owners into buying a portion of the lot next door so that we could leave some distance between the original house and the addition,” Thomas said. “The bridge keeps us from having to mimic the old house because it’s separate from the original, not grafted onto it. It takes its cues in plan and materials, for the most part, from Kenneth Scott’s design. Yet it will provide visual and physical clarity between the old and new.”

Along with the bridge, the addition will include a master bedroom suite, a guest room and another basement, as well as Mark Hansen’s 36-foot-long, 8-foot, 8-inches wide office that will be cantilevered off the addition’s northern elevation.

“The office is the only true departure from the planes and materials of the original,” Thomas said. “It will be a separate object that will float above the landscape in a cantilevered box, framed in dark, anodized metal that will form ‘blinders’ on the east and west, except for one slender, floor-to-ceiling window. The northern wall will be all glass with Mark’s desk built into it. The southern wall will be covered in bookshelves to accommodate Mark’s vast collection of books.”

Thomas expects the addition to take about a year to complete.

Bayleaf Buildings of Raleigh is serving as contractor for the project. Kaydos-Daniels is the structural engineer.

For more information on Kenneth Hobgood Architects, visit www.kennethhobgood.com.

About Kenneth E. Hobgood Architects:

Kenneth Hobgood, FAIA, founded Kenneth E Hobgood, Architects in Raleigh, NC, in 1992. Since then, the firm has received 39 design awards from the American Institute of Architects North Carolina chapter and its work has been published and exhibited in the United States, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, England and Germany. In 1997, Kenneth Hobgood as awarded the Kamphoefner Prize from North Carolina State University’s College of Design for “consistent integrity and devotion to the development of modern architecture” in North Carolina. He has served as a visiting critic at Auburn University, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, and the University of Kentucky, and as an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University since 1988. For more information, visit www.kennethhobgood.com.

Duke’s “Green” Ocean Conservation Center Wins Wood Design Award

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Ocean Conservation Center, Duke Univ. Photo by Jeffrey Jacobs
Ocean Conservation Center, Duke Univ. Photo by Jeffrey Jacobs

March 2, 2009 (BEAUFORT, NC) — Duke University’s Ocean Conservation Center (OCC) at the Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C., designed by Frank Harmon Architect PA of Raleigh, NC, recently received a Wood Design Award: Green Building Category from WoodWorks-Southeast, a division of the Wood Products Council of North America for non-residential construction.

“Wood contributes to building high performance by reducing energy use, resource use, pollution and overall environmental impact,” according to WoodWorks’ website. “Entries in the green building category should demonstrate how some or all of these principles have been applied in the building’s design and construction.

The 5,600-square-foot OCC is Duke’s only LEED Gold certified building and one of only about 1700 LEED rated projects in the United States. Presented by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the national benchmark for high performance “green” buildings.

Harmon used local building materials — yellow Southern pine and Atlantic white cedar — and recycled wood throughout the Ocean Conservation Center. The wood-shingled exterior complements the coastal context.

Other “green” features include photovoltaic cells, geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels for hot water, photovoltaic rooftop panels for converting sunlight into electricity, an abundance of operable windows for natural lighting and ventilation, deep roof overhangs to keep the sun off the windows, permeable sidewalks, a zinc roof designed to last 100 years and to reflect heat, and native landscaping.

Frank Harmon has designed many LEED-certified buildings, including the Botanical Gardens Visitors Center nearing completion now at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. It was designed to receive LEED Platinum certification, the highest level in the certification program. For more information, visit www.frankharmon.com.

The annual WoodWorks-South competition is open to designers, firms and building projects in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The award ceremony was held February 24 at the Wood Solutions Fair in Raleigh.

WoodWorks is an initiative of the Wood Products Council, a cooperative venture of all the major wood associations in North America, as well as research organizations and government agencies. For more information visit http://www.woodworks.org

About Frank Harmon:
Frank Harmon, FAIA is an award-winning architect and an adjunct professor of architecture at the College of Design, North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. A veteran speaker at regional and national design conferences, he has presented versions of his popular “Architects Discuss America’s New Regionalism” seminar at the 2005, 2006 and 2007 National AIA Conventions and Dwell Magazine’s 2007 “Dwell On Design” Conference. He has served on many design awards juries, including the national jury for the American Institute of Architects’ 2005 Institute Honor Awards. He is currently serving on the U.S. General Services Administration’s National Register of Peer Professionals to improve public buildings.

Educated at both the N.C. School of Design and the Architectural Association in London, where he studied under James Stirling, Mr. Harmon worked for Richard Meier in New York before founding his own practice, Frank Harmon Architect, in Raleigh.  His work has been featured in numerous national and international journals, magazines and books on architecture, including The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture (Princeton Architectural Press), and has been exhibited in the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

As a practitioner, he is considered a leader in the field of sustainable design. In 2005 Frank Harmon Architect was named “Top Firm of the Year” by Residential Architect magazine. More recently, his received First Place in a professional design competition to select an architect for the AIA/North Carolina component’s new headquarters in downtown Raleigh. He was also featured recently in the “Conversation” section of Dwell Magazine and on American Public Media’s “The Story” with Dick Gordon (NPR).

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Duke’s Greenest Building Gets The Gold

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Duke's Ocean Conservation Center in Beaufort, NC
Duke

November 25, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) – Duke University’s Ocean Conservation Center at the Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C., designed by Frank Harmon Architect PA of Raleigh, has been awarded the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Gold certification, Duke’s Office of News & Communications reported today.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the national benchmark for high performance “green” buildings.

The 5,600-square-foot Center in Beaufort is Duke’s only LEED Gold certified building, Harmon was able to design it to that standard of environmental responsibility and conservation thanks to a grant from the Wallace Genetic Foundation.

Completed in 2008, the Ocean Conservation Center uses geothermal pumps for heating and cooling, solar panels for hot water, and photovoltaic rooftop panels for converting sunlight into electricity. Harmon used local building materials (yellow southern pine and Atlantic white cedar) and recycled wood throughout the structure.

Other eco-friendly features include an abundance of operable windows for natural lighting and ventilation, deep roof overhangs to keep the sun off the windows, permeable sidewalks, a zinc roof designed to last 100 years and to reflect heat, and native landscaping.

The center houses a teaching laboratory, a 48-seat lecture hall with advanced teleconferencing and videoconferencing capabilities to connect to classrooms and research labs around the globe, and a glass-enclosed commons area.

Frank Harmon has designed many LEED-certified buildings, including the Botanical Gardens Visitors Center under construction now at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He designed that building to receive LEED Platinum certification, the highest level in the certification program.

For more information on Frank Harmon and his work, visit http://www.frankharmon.com.

For more information on Duke’s Ocean Conservation Center, visit http://www.nicholas.duke.edu.
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Tisch Brain Tumor Center To Receive Proceeds from Third Mannequin Ball

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June 23, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) — The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University Medical Center in Durham will be one of the beneficiaries of  apportion of the proceeds from this year’s Mannequin Ball, a fashion and fine art gala to be held in the new Convention Center in downtown Raleigh in November, sponsored by Raleigh Metro Magazine.

The Tisch Center is one of the largest and most successful in the field, receiving the highest rating of “Outstanding” by a National Cancer Institute peer review group’s evaluation of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center over the last ten years.

In 2008, Metro Magazine included Dr. Henry Friedman, deputy director of the Tisch Center, in its annual Who’s Who selection recognizing “ten of our fellow citizens who make a difference.” Dr. Friedman is one of the world’s top researchers in the field of brain tumors.

But Metro’s vice-president and chair of the Mannequin Ball, Katie Reeves, had a very personal reason for selecting the Tisch Brain Tumor Center as one of the recipients for Mannequin Ball proceeds. In February 2007, her step-son, Dan Reeves, was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma brain tumor and treated at the Tisch Center. Today, Dan is recovering successfully – and working full-time as a writer for Raleigh Metro Magazine.

“We sometimes forget how fortunate we are to have the world’s top brain tumor center right here in our community,” Reeves said. “The expertise and professionalism of the Tisch Center are the best in the world – that’s why Senator Ted Kennedy’s medical team selected the center here for his brain tumor procedure.”

Recently, Senator Kennedy passed over the facilities in his hometown Boston and other centers in the US and entrusted the Tisch Center with the surgery to treat his recently diagnosed brain tumor.

In Metro’s Who’s Who report, Dr. Henry Friedman said, “We know that a brain tumor is unlike any other disease. We take an aggressive team approach to find answers and provide hope. We play to win. We want survivors.” For more information on the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, go to http://www.cancer.duke.edu/btc/.

The Raleigh Fine Arts Society will also receive proceeds from the Mannequin Ball. The group has been at the forefront of cultural activities in the region for 44 years, including three signature annual projects: the Artist’s Exhibition, the Literary Contest for Wake County schools and the student Choral Celebration.

Raleigh Metro Magazine’s Mannequin Ball has been called ”the best party in North Carolina” after the success of  two previous events centered  on fashion.  This year’s theme is “A Twist of the Big Apple.” Tickets are on sale now. For more information on becoming a sponsor or purchasing tickets, contact Katie Poole at 919-831-0999 or via email at katiepoole@metromagazine.net. Information and updates about the event are available at http://www.themannequinball.com.

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