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Wake Forest MBA Programs Find a New Home in Charlotte’s Center City

August 10, 2011

Jenkins•Peer Architects is working with Rodgers Builders, Inc. of Charlotte on a 25,000-sf interior renovation and upfit to transform existing space in the heart of Charlotte’s Center City into a technology-rich learning center for Wake Forest University’s Charlotte MBA Programs. Located on the first floor of the International Trade Center Building—soon to be renamed the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center—the new location integrates the graduate programs into Charlotte’s thriving business and financial community. Construction is scheduled to complete in December, with space open for classes in January 2012.

Features of the new facility will include:

  • Tiered Classrooms with distance learning capability
  • Learning Laboratories
  • Private and Semi-Private Breakout Spaces
  • Administration Wing
  • A Hospitality Lobby equipped with a Catering Kitchen
  • An adaptable 3600-sf Multipurpose Space that can be configured to accommodate up to three 1200-sf classrooms or opened up to accommodate a variety of larger gatherings and special events.

Design Challenge

In redefining the existing space for Wake Forest, J•PA had to adapt the design to accommodate the massive structural columns original to the 1920’s building, which was home to Pender’s Warehouse and Bakery. The 3.5-feet in diameter concrete columns are set at 20-foot increments throughout the space. Effective space planning and furniture positioning were critical to ensure unobstructed views of professors, speakers and presentations. In the lobby area, creative interior lighting crowns each column, reflecting off the surface to carry light down and out into the space.

Construction Begins on UNC Charlotte 49ers Football Stadium

April 10, 2011

UNC Charlotte celebrated another milestone in the process of adding football to its existing athletic programs. Niner Nation packed the house at the official groundbreaking ceremony for the 49ers’ new football stadium.

More than 3,000 students, faculty, staff, athletes and supporters joined Head Football Coach Brad Lambert, Chancellor Dr. Philip Dubois, Athletic Director Judy Rose, local architect Jenkins•Peer Architects, stadium designer DLR Group and the project’s construction manager Rodgers Builders for the official groundbreaking on April 28th.

The 49ers will take to the field for the first time on August 31, 2013, against Campbell University.

“As designers, our goal has been to establish a campus game-day experience for UNC Charlotte students, alumni and 49ers fans,” said Jenkins•Peer project manager Dan Van Dyke, AIA. “We’re all proud to be part of bringing the tradition and excitement of college football to the UNC Charlotte campus, and we’re looking forward to cheering on our hometown team.”

Upon completion in 2013, the new stadium will boast 15,000 seats. The stadium’s design allows for additions to grow with the program, with expansion to 25,000 and 40,000 seats. Full build-out of 40,000 seats allows for enhanced spectator amenities, premium seating, hospitality, and university functions found in premier stadiums.

Training facilities at the stadium complex include two natural turf fields and a 45,000-sf field house located in the stadium’s south end zone. The facility includes team locker rooms, sports medicine, strength training, meeting rooms, coaches’ offices, academic spaces and other support activities. A large terrace for hospitality events overlooks the football field.

About the Design Team

Since 1978, Jenkins•Peer Architects has been active throughout the Carolinas, offering planning and architectural services that support higher education and campus life, science and research, libraries, cultural arts, light industrial, office, mixed-use and multifamily housing developments.

Based in Overland Park, Kansas, DLR Group is an interdisciplinary design firm with a reputation for delivering highly successful sports facilities nationwide. Their portfolio includes award-winning collegiate, municipal and franchise sports facilities designed to promote an exceptional game day experience for players and fans.

UNCW Breaks Ground on New Home for the Department of Psychology

April 01, 2010

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington hosted a ceremonial ground-breaking on April 22nd for the new home to UNCW’s Department of Psychology. Jenkins•Peer Architects is working with the University on the design of this much-needed campus asset, which will educate mental health professionals to address a growing need for services throughout the state and region.

Increasing access to mental health services is a top priority for the Governor’s Task Force for Healthy Carolinians, a goal shared by UNC Wilmington and its Department of Psychology. This new building will provide critical space and facilities to prepare psychology professionals and continue cutting edge faculty research in the discipline.

In addition, the UNC Board of Governors recently approved UNCW’s request to develop a new doctoral program in applied and experimental psychology, which also will be housed in the new building.

“These two things coming together—the new building and the new doctoral program—couldn’t be better,” said psychology department chair Mark Galizio. “We’re expanding research training and clinical training. Everything is in place, except the space to do it. This building is the final component in the creation of a world class doctoral program.”

Right now, UNCW’s psychology labs are in eight different buildings. This new facility will house all department faculty, students and laboratories under one roof, which will advance teaching, research and collaboration. Some features of the planned building include:

  • Classrooms and labs with leading-edge technology
  • A neuroscience laboratory classroom outfitted with the latest equipment and technology so students can learn advanced research techniques in the study of brain-behavior relationships
  • Child psychology lab complex, which will enhance the efforts of four faculty members whose research on children’s emotional and cognitive development is improving treatments for children with intellectual disabilities, including autism.
  • Psychopharmacology and substance abuse research complex will bring together the research and teaching programs of nine faculty members who are focused on understanding the processes of addiction and the potential for new treatments. Alcohol and drug abuse costs our state’s economy more than $12 billion a year.
  • Cognitive aging lab complex, which will aid the research of five distinguished faculty working in the areas of memory and dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, the fifth leading cause of death among North Carolinians.
  • Laboratories that will support research in social psychology, behavior analysis, forensic psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and the development of a new research and clinical program designed to help veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan recover from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

When completed and ready for use, as scheduled in 2012, the new building will be the second step, along with the Nursing Building, in the university’s vision for a health quad, as outlined in the campus master plan. The $33 million building will provide the university with an additional 80,850 square feet of classroom, laboratory and faculty office space.

“I can’t overstate how important this building is,” said dean of the College of Arts and Sciences David Cordle. “With its facilities, we’ll provide more powerful learning experiences for our students and better healthcare resources for the state and region we serve. Nearly 600 of our current students are majoring in psychology. Many others are combining a psychology minor with another field of study. Since 1994, more than 120 have graduated from our master’s program, and we plan to begin adding doctoral graduates to our alumni in the near future.”

Town of Elon takes on New Leaf with Proposed Library’s Park Setting

December 29, 2009

Inspired by the form of a tree leaf, the architects presented the schematic design for a new 16,000-square-foot library set in Beth Schmidt Park to the Elon, North Carolina community at a Town Hall meeting on November 30.

In today’s American economy, trips to the shopping mall are way down, but trips to the local library are way up. The public library has become the new lifestyle destination of choice – and it’s free. Public libraries are able to offer the combined experiences and products of a Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, Apple Store, and much more for less money. Patrons discover that the library is not just a place to check out books, but a place to check out what is happening in their community and in the world. Today’s libraries are club houses for the whole family, a department store for learning, and a private retreat. They are places to meet friends and neighbors.

Elon’s plans for a public library will offer all of this with the added attraction of a park setting. The library is within an extension of Beth Schmidt Park, the town’s recreational living room that features a playground, a frisbee golf course, nature trails, and a Japanese garden. The library will enhance and complement the activities of the park. Parents will have a short walk from the playground to story time.

The design of the library takes its cues from the nearby forest and open field site. “The giant leaf-shaped roof helps the library to both blend in and stand out,” says Henry Myerberg of HMA2 architects, the library’s design architect. “Like a park within a park, the library rests on a garden terrace that fronts an open lawn, as a designated town green.”

Inside, the library feels like an open-air pavilion with flexible spaces for group meetings, quiet study, working on-line, browsing books, and enjoying the view. The center of the library is a user-friendly technology hub for computers, printers and projectors. Public lounge chairs face a fireplace and overlook the green outside. A café and children’s area extend onto a back terrace with a mini amphitheater for storytelling and performances. A meeting room has seating for 100. Yes, there are still plenty of books, “but some spaces for books will eventually become spaces for people as growing parts of the collections become commonly accessed on digital readers,” explains Myerberg.

This trend toward digital media continues to prompt changes in the way libraries relate to the communities they serve. The architects of Elon’s public library are sensitive to this continuing evolution. Working with HMA2 architects, North Carolina-based Jenkins•Peer Architects is providing local project management. Principal Benjamin Benson describes the team’s approach as “a thoughtful balance between design that meets today’s needs and flexible space that easily adapts to the library’s changing needs.”

About Collaborating Architects HMA2 and Jenkins•Peer

The collaborating architects for the project are HMA2 architects and Jenkins•Peer Architects. HMA2 is a New York based architectural firm that specializes in the planning and design of public, school and academic libraries throughout America and parts of Asia. Founding Principal Henry Myerberg is directing the design of the Elon Public Library. Jenkins•Peer is a Charlotte, NC architectural firm with extensive experience in commercial, institutional, and library projects throughout the Carolinas. The firm has completed several projects for Elon University, including the McMichael Science Center. Principal Benjamin Benson is directing the management and execution of this project. Visit www.hma2.com and www.jenkinspeer.com for additional information.