Block 24 – North Pearl

The North Pearl Block 24 is a 381-unit residential project developed within a unique site located at the northern end of the Pearl district adjacent to Fields Park.  The project consists of a 23-story residential tower that engages a concrete podium containing parking that is wrapped with single-loaded residential units on three of the sides.  On the southern portion of the podium there is an additional three levels of double loaded housing to complete the composition.  The added podium element is separated by the lower podium by a horizontal reveal, and to help break down the massing toward the park and create a cascading effect, the eastmost portion of the housing angles pivots backward in plan to create a terracing relationship to the open space.

The ground level along NW Quimby Street is activated by lobby and support spaces including co-working space.  This frontage also provides the only vehicular access to the site for parking, loading and trash. On the southeast corner of the ground level there is a small retail with a dedicated outdoor seating immediately adjacent to the Fields Park. The placement of this retail also takes advantage of an axial view down NW 11^th street. The project along NW 12^th Avenue shares a pedestrian easement with the property to the West. This area allows for a pedestrian connection from NW Quimby to NW Raleigh and vice versa. We propose a rich mix of native vegetation, seating, a stormwater feature and access to both the residential lobby and a series of ground level flats with private outdoor terraces.  The NW 12^th Avenue corridor is then resolved with a planned private multi-use garden and recreation space.

Along the north edge, the building fronts the railway alignment. We are bookending this frontage with some residential units but given the activity of this frontage we are pushing the parking along this frontage of the podium. The parking will be screened from view, creating a layered texture of vertical fins, flat metal and the concrete structural frame and tuned placement of opacity to block out vehicle headlights. The integrated screening of the parking runs from the ground to the top of the podium. We are proposing shallow root landscape within an underground easement in a way to create a graphic from above and to soften the edge of the building meeting grade.

The podium lid is highly vegetated and amenitized. It contains various scaled spaces for large and small gatherings.  It includes break out areas for the shared community space including shared BBQs and firepits. Unique to this project is a figurative pool and spa which not only creates a desirable place of respite for the residents but also offers a striking visage from above to complete the composition.

The tower design flares out to bring daylight into the elevator lobbies and to take advantage of distant views toward the river, the mountains, the city and the fabric of the neighborhood.  The vertical reveal at the lobbies helps showcase the slipping in the massing. Completing the massing, the tower steps back to create a shared amenity and outdoor space at the northern edge which is then is capped with one level of larger penthouse units.  The mechanical equipment and machine rooms are integrated into the silhouette of the form to complete the dynamic composition of the residential tower. The materials are a combination of brick along the ground level of the podium with portions of the podium using cementitious rainscreen punched window composition, while the tower is composed of window wall using metal extrusions and insulated spandrel glass to create an energy efficient and dynamic composition.