Title: North Carolina Earth and Clay Center
Location of Proejct: Raleigh, NC
Project Completion Date: N/A
Firm Name:

Short Description: The NCEC (North Carolina Earth and Clay Center) anchors itself on the Neuse River and Capital Boulevard, two of the most prominent landmarks in Raleigh, North Carolina. The design objectives revolved around celebrating vernacular practices prevalent in the area of intervention. Due to the many rivers that flourish numerous ecosystems throughout the piedmont, North Carolina is home to distinct clay and adobe production and manufacturing. The Center attempts to serve as an epicenter for celebrating Clay and adobe production; it includes both flexible spaces to learn and also spaces to exhibit clay works in three distinct galleries.

Architect's Statement: The North Carolina Earth and Clay Center, proposedly located in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a +/- 40,000 sq. ft. cultural conservation space dedicated to preserving North Carolina history regarding Clay and other adobe products and art. We were asked to design a cultural center to preserve and respond to the site, a tradition, or the heritage of the surrounding landscape. The site for this space was chosen particularly due to the cultural and environmental ecosystem of the adjacent Neuse river. This waterway played a vital role in the lives and survival of people dating back to the first inhabitants of the region. Therefore, the unique histories of the city, the river, and their contribution to the collective history of North Carolina needed to be considered. Alongside active exhibits, which would rotate throughout the year displaying different uses of North Carolina clay, the center needed to integrate spaces for teaching and workshopping to preserve vernacular practices prevalent in North Carolina.

Prior to intervening with the site, I focused my attention on understanding the peculiarities of the context both direct and indirect to the site and its program. The most important distinction was that the area was landlocked from the river to the south and west, a forest to the north, and a railroad to the east. Therefore access to the site and the promenade within the site was a crucial challenge to resolve once I began designing. Capital boulevard, the main street adjacent to the site that would be the only access point, was a quarter east of the proposed site. Moreover, the harsh slope of the landscape as it approached the western shore brought forward the challenge of a fragile ecosystem where the clay process flourished. Therefore, my response to these constraints revolved around prioritizing the preservation and exploration of the landscape directly; the architecture would be established atop the hill and provide intimate walkways leading down west and south to the shoreline to allow the users to interact and view the ecosystem closely. The user would park before the threshold of the railroad and would progress on foot or on a shuttle service to begin interacting with the landscape even before entering the center.

The center provides a sprawl of distinct spaces tied together by two unique, non-hierarchal courts, one of which faces west and one that faces east. The campus-like approach to the spaces enforces the direct connection between the user and the site. The promenade internally ends at the oldest and the only permanent building on the campus: the kiln. Due to the flexibility of the program, the center needed to be able to respond to programmatic requirements, additions, and subtraction to the square footage; therefore, the clay walls that are the building blocks of the center are produced on site. Thus, if new spaces are needed, the kiln can produce the architecture and add to the campus. The ephemeral nature of this type of clay construction is inherently celebrated through the architectural qualities of the center.

The section also served to be a fascinating challenge in the design process for the NCEC. The center never breaches the second story and maintains a low profile to live below the canopy of the forest. The walking trail beyond the river is actively used and enjoys the privilege of looking across a beautiful landscape; thus, the architecture maintains that view and context. Moreover, the center is designed with large clerestory windows that serve as the delicate connection between the heavy clay walls and the elegant wooden roof. The roof extends beyond the footprint of the interior to both maintain and prohibit beam light from piercing into the spaces and provide the edges of the spaces with shaded circulation. Therefore a clear distinction is made between spaces to inhabit and spaces to circulate. The distinct sectional shape of the roof reflects the collection of water; the roof directs rainwater to either end of the slope, and the water is used in workshops and other clay interventions. The center is built with the tools to sustain itself and the program and also to openly expand and change its footprint to reflect those needs.