The project suggests renovation of Kamphoefner Hall. The building is located at the campus of North Carolina State University and is part of the design school. Moving from East to West, the site goes through approximately 20 feet of level change. The building has an L shape outline that encompasses a courtyard that is used for student activities and art display. The building has studios at each level and a gathering spaces for students and visitors at ground level. What makes this building appealing is the various views that studios have to different parts of the building and the courtyard. However, one of the problems of Kamphoefner Hall is that part of the building is exposed to East and West sun light, which troubles the studios with sun glare.
The primary reason for the renovation proposal, is to make the building more sustainable. Therefore, the main material of the building has been changed from brick to pine and timber but to comply with the building codes of State, the three enclosed concrete fire stairs remain in the project. For the structure, 6-inch panels made of three or five layers of solid Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) is incorporated and for the framing Spruce-Pine-Fir graded lumber is used. Cross Laminated Timber wall due to its layering can bear the forces in tall buildings. Also, when comparing CLT with concrete or steel structure, it has less weight, it is more environmentally friendly and offers less carbon footprint. To promote the aesthetic sense and give more modernized look to the framing and structure, the framing of traditional light Japanese joinery and detail has been used inside the studios. Eastern white pine lumber is used as the finishing, louver system and furniture. To tackle over-exposure to sunlight and to create a sense of motion on the façade a louver system is proposed. Therefore, the studios can benefit from daylight without being troubled by over exposure to sun light. Moreover, the Pine wood is used for the finishing of CLT walls on the insulation layer. To lengthen the life cycle of these louvers and finishing, they are charred and later coated with boiled linseed oil which makes the wood more resistant to moisture, termites and fire.