Duke University Environment Hall: Nicholas School of the Environment
Award level: Honor Award
Project name: Duke University Environment Hall: Nicholas School of the Environment
Project location: Durham, North Carolina
Firm name: Payette
Jury comments: Adding density to an active campus, this science center is quite elegant for a large building. The structure is an articulated transparent envelope, its mass broken down with grace. The fenestration is challenging but ultimately successful. Responding to the campus master plan call for a strong pedestrian corridor between multiple precincts, the Hall is linked to other buildings by a series of landscapes that are woven into its overall sustainability strategy. Most interior spaces enjoy strong connection to the exterior, and thoughtful material choices further blur the lines between inside and out. Very successful from planning through execution, though a vegetal pattern detail seems out of place, an example of ornamentation in the age of digital fabrication.
