NCCU Latham Parking Deck

The North Carolina Central University Latham Parking Deck + Bookstore were designed to accommodate 700 cars and 19,000 square feet of retail space. The site, with existing utilities and limited acreage, required innovation in civil and structural design and close coordination with the Owner and design team. The building, which includes a parking deck, a small police sub-station, and a University bookstore, plays an integral role in bridging the two distinct portions of the campus. The structure was designed to relate to the character of the University and neighborhood in terms of scale and exterior and design. The massing of the building places the bookstore on the main elevation as a skin to the parking deck, allowing students to conveniently access both the deck and the bookstore. A user’s experience of space is strongly influenced by how s/he arrives in it. With this thought in mind, the bookstore draws its form from the pattern of a book, with the main façade serving as a cover that draws the students into the main space.