Shipping containers were the prominent building material used to construct Boxyard RTP, the first public community and gathering place in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park (RTP). Designed by CallisonRTKL (CRTKL), the project is intended as a lunchtime and happy hour destination, and a venue for concerts, farmer’s markets, and other community events.
Located on a wooded lot within a grove of evergreen trees, Boxyard RTP takes advantage of the shade thrown by the dense tree coverage, and the natural features provide a contrast to the industrial look of the containers. The site is organized around a courtyard with retail, food, and beverage offerings surrounding the central open space. The courtyard is partially protected from the elements by a prefabricated metal building canopy that plays off of the containers’ industrial aesthetic.
Beneath the canopy, a container houses a stage with drop down walls on two sides, allowing flexibility for various types of events. The design of the structures makes use of the entire container materials, which increases sustainable practices and reduces project cost. The prefabricated, modular nature of the shipping containers and the minimal site disturbance required reduced the construction schedule to just nine months.
The stage facing the courtyard is intended for large music performances. Patios were created with wood decking over container roofs or offsetting stacked containers. Another stage will be used for smaller productions, allowing guests to sit on the lawn below the tree canopy. With room for up to nine restaurants, indoor/outdoor seating options, and a covered pavilion, Boxyard RTP will provide year-round dining and shopping experiences.
Food and beverage tenants will have from three to six conjoined containers. Retail tenants will have the option to have a single container or the ability to open-up two conjoined containers.
Located in the largest research park in the U.S., the Research Triangle is located between Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Access to the site is readily walkable from surrounding campuses in RTP. It has integrated parking for vehicles and access to a bus stop along Highway 54 to the project’s south.
On the building team:
Owner and/or developer: The Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina
Design architect: CRTKL
MEP engineer: Clark Nexsen
Structural engineer: Lynch Mykins Structural Engineers, PC
General contractor/construction manager: Kirkland Inc.
Related Stories
| Nov 3, 2010
Park’s green education center a lesson in sustainability
The new Cantigny Outdoor Education Center, located within the 500-acre Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Ill., earned LEED Silver. Designed by DLA Architects, the 3,100-sf multipurpose center will serve patrons of the park’s golf courses, museums, and display garden, one of the largest such gardens in the Midwest.
| Nov 3, 2010
Public works complex gets eco-friendly addition
The renovation and expansion of the public works operations facility in Wilmette, Ill., including a 5,000-sf addition that houses administrative and engineering offices, locker rooms, and a lunch room/meeting room, is seeking LEED Gold certification.
| Nov 3, 2010
Sailing center sets course for energy efficiency, sustainability
The Milwaukee (Wis.) Community Sailing Center’s new facility on Lake Michigan counts a geothermal heating and cooling system among its sustainable features. The facility was designed for the nonprofit instructional sailing organization with energy efficiency and low operating costs in mind.
| Nov 3, 2010
Seattle University’s expanded library trying for LEED Gold
Pfeiffer Partners Architects, in collaboration with Mithun Architects, programmed, planned, and designed the $55 million renovation and expansion of Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons at Seattle University. The LEED-Gold-designed facility’s green features include daylighting, sustainable and recycled materials, and a rain garden.
| Nov 3, 2010
Recreation center targets student health, earns LEED Platinum
Not only is the student recreation center at the University of Arizona, Tucson, the hub of student life but its new 54,000-sf addition is also super-green, having recently attained LEED Platinum certification.
| Nov 3, 2010
Senior housing will be affordable, sustainable
Horizons at Morgan Hill, a 49-unit affordable senior housing community in Morgan Hill, Calif., was designed by KTGY Group and developed by Urban Housing Communities. The $21.2 million, three-story building will offer 36 one-bed/bath units (773 sf) and 13 two-bed/bath units (1,025 sf) on a 2.6-acre site.
| Nov 3, 2010
Virginia biofuel research center moving along
The Sustainable Energy Technology Center has broken ground in October on the Danville, Va., campus of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. The 25,000-sf facility will be used to develop enhanced bio-based fuels, and will house research laboratories, support labs, graduate student research space, and faculty offices. Rainwater harvesting, a vegetated roof, low-VOC and recycled materials, photovoltaic panels, high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and water-saving systems, and LED light fixtures will be deployed. Dewberry served as lead architect, with Lord Aeck & Sargent serving as laboratory designer and sustainability consultant. Perigon Engineering consulted on high-bay process labs. New Atlantic Contracting is building the facility.
| Nov 3, 2010
Dining center cooks up LEED Platinum rating
Students at Bowling Green State University in Ohio will be eating in a new LEED Platinum multiuse dining center next fall. The 30,000-sf McDonald Dining Center will have a 700-seat main dining room, a quick-service restaurant, retail space, and multiple areas for students to gather inside and out, including a fire pit and several patios—one of them on the rooftop.
| Nov 2, 2010
A Look Back at the Navy’s First LEED Gold
Building Design+Construction takes a retrospective tour of a pace-setting LEED project.
| Nov 2, 2010
Wind Power, Windy City-style
Building-integrated wind turbines lend a futuristic look to a parking structure in Chicago’s trendy River North neighborhood. Only time will tell how much power the wind devices will generate.
