A 17-story, iconic tower at the Avery C. Upchurch complex in downtown Raleigh, NC that will further drive the booming Raleigh skyline. This state-of-the-art 370,000 SF facility will unite various municipal departments and city council spaces while adding to the vibrancy of downtown Raleigh–an art gallery and staff health center are just some of the other features. It’s also just a 15 minute walk from our Raleigh office!

With office and meeting space for 1,400 employees and City Council chambers, this campus project required close coordination with the design team to mitigate inflation-driven construction costs and the tight site constraints.

The building structure is cast-in-place concrete supported by auger cast piles. It includes a basement level for mechanical equipment, loading dock and other building services.
The structure is optimized to have a 24″” total structure depth to maximize ceiling height while maintaining 40′ structural bays. The design includes a 10′ cantilever at all tower levels on the west side of the building. The interior stair and elevator shaft walls serve as concrete shear walls for lateral load resistance. The building also includes several exterior terrace levels and a mechanical penthouse level. Foundations consist of continuous flight auger (CFA) large diameter auger cast piles.

photo credit: Ratio Design, Henning Larson