Diamond View III green project takes home a Gold

Diamond View III in Durham, North Carolina, which had received LEED BD+C: Core and Shell v3 certification in early 2016, was awarded Gold in the “Commercial – Other” category at this year’s Brick in Architecture Awards from the Brick Industry Association (BIA).

Project overview

Diamond View III (DVIII) is a new 5-story, 136,000 gsf core and shell mixed-use building with office space on the top floors and restaurants/retail on the ground. As the third in a series of new commercial office buildings surrounding the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, DVIII is adjacent to the American Tobacco Campus, a registered historic site comprised of factory buildings established in the 1800s, and the new Durham Performing Arts Center.

Located in a lively, 19th century meets the 21st century, entertainment district that has contributed to the revitalization of downtown Durham, DVIII honors the historical brick used in the area while offering modern day features and amenities.

DVIII sits prominently along Blackwell Street, a key north-south artery that connects downtown Durham to major local and interstate highways. The building separates the historic tobacco buildings on the west from the ballpark and more recent commercial buildings to the east. The Owner saw this project as an opportunity to fill a critical piece of development; encircle the ballpark; activate Blackwell Street, which had little in the way of storefronts, front doors, or other reasons to pause, populate or enliven the streetscape; and build a metaphorical bridge between old and new architectures.

Diamond View III in Durham, North Carolina. Architect firm: SmithGroupJJR; landscape architect firm: Coulter Jewell Thames; builder: Lend Lease; brick manufacturer and distributor: Triangle Brick Company; and photographer: JWest Productions.

Green building

DVIII received LEED BD+C: Core and Shell v3 certification on January 4, 2016. DVIII’s green design accented Durham’s existing wealth of historic architecture, spaces, places and views by implementing a number of sustainable strategies, including DX rooftop units with energy recovery wheels, occupant showers and bicycle storage, solar control low-e glass, low-flow and sensory fixtures, a roof-mounted solar hot water system, a white cool-roof to reduce heat island effect, and a Building Management Control System integrated with the overall campus controls.

Diamond View III in Durham, North Carolina. Architect firm: SmithGroupJJR; landscape architect firm: Coulter Jewell Thames; builder: Lend Lease; brick manufacturer and distributor: Triangle Brick Company; and photographer: JWest Productions.
Diamond View III in Durham, North Carolina. Architect firm: SmithGroupJJR; landscape architect firm: Coulter Jewell Thames; builder: Lend Lease; brick manufacturer and distributor: Triangle Brick Company; and photographer: JWest Productions.

It also received LEED points for sustainable sites, material and resources, and indoor environmental quality, among others.

DVIII was built on a tight urban site with dense development, historic buildings, community connectivity, and pedestrian access to services. It reduced pollution and land development impacts by situating the building near mass transit facilities to provide alternative public transportation sources, and by using recycled content and regional materials to minimize the extraction, processing, transport, maintenance, and disposal of building materials.

DVIII’s indoor environmental quality program used low-VOC paint, adhesive, and sealant materials that are beneficial to the health and comfort of its future occupants.

Project Details

Diamond View III in Durham, North Carolina
Architect firm: SmithGroupJJR
Landscape architect firm: Coulter Jewell Thames
Builder: Lend Lease
Brick manufacturer and distributor: Triangle Brick Company
Photographer: JWest Productions

Judged by a jury of peers, 32 Best in Class, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in 17 states and Canada were awarded in seven categories: Commercial, Educational (Higher Education), Educational (K-12), Healthcare, Municipal/Government, Residential (Multifamily) and Residential (Single Family).

The criteria for entering a project included any work of architecture completed since January 1, 2011, in which new clay brick products comprised over 50 percent of the exterior building or paving material. These include face or hollow brick, building brick, thin brick, paving brick, glazed brick, structural glazed facing tile, new clay brick products in special shapes and/or a combination of any of these aforementioned units.

The Brick Industry Association has sponsored the Brick in Architecture Awards since 1989. As the only national association to represent both manufacturers and distributors, BIA is the authority in the clay brick industry. As such, the Brick in Architecture Awards has become the nation’s premiere architectural award featuring clay brick.

Founded in 1934, BIA at www.gobrick.com is the nationally recognized authority on clay brick construction representing the nation’s distributors and manufacturers of clay brick and suppliers of related products. Twitter: @BrickIndustry https://twitter.com/BrickIndustry. YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/BrickIndustry Telephone: 703-620-0010.