The 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park (RTP) in North Carolina, founded in 1959, is the largest research park in the U.S. Nestled near Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill, the park is home to more than 300 companies, 50,000 employees and 10,000 contractors focused on research, biotech, life sciences, and computing.
In March 2019, the Research Triangle Foundation, which owns and manages the park, announced its plans to construct Boxyard RTP, a 15,000-sf development within the park’s Frontier RTP campus made from repurposed shipping containers. Boxyard RTP, which is in the planning stages and is scheduled to open later this year, would be the park’s first food and retail complex. It will have space for up to nine food and beverage vendors, as well as several retailers and service providers.
The food and beverage container spaces will come with partial kitchen equipment upfits. The complex will include covered spaces for seating, special events, and performances.
Performance space will face the courtyard at Boxyard RTP. Rendering: CallisonRTKL
“Boxyard RTP is a workhorse opportunity for RTP and the region,” says Scott Levitan, president and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation, in a prepared statement. “Experimental food, libations and retail, cool programming and event opportunities will flip the energy switch for RTP and our neighborhood communities.”
The Boxyard concept takes its name and inspiration from an existing development of 39 repurposed containers in the East Village district of Tulsa, Okla., developed by Nelson + Stowe Development and opened in December 2016. (The contractor on the Tulsa project was Ross Group, and the fabricator was Cisco Containers.)
The concept aspires to retain as much of the lot's landscaping and trees as possible. Rendering: CallisonRTKL
SHIPPING CONTAINER CONCEPT DESIGN PRESERVES NATURE
At Research Triangle Park, Boxyard RTP’s 38 shipping containers will be situated on a 12-acre wooded lot once dominated by railroad interchanges. CallisonRTKL, which designed the North Carolina concept, is incorporates existing landscaping and trees. The prefabricated shipping containers are modular and can be stacked, so minimal site disturbance will occur during construction.
The modular design is also flexible enough to accommodate the needs of different vendors.
The $7 million Boxyard RTP is organized around a central courtyard, with retail, food, and beverage stalls throughout the public space. The performance stage will face the courtyard, and upper level patios will provide seating and walkways. (Maverick Partners Realty Services is the leasing agent for this project.) As of this morning, Boxyard RTP’s website listed 10 vendors that have committed to leasing space, ranging from a brewery and a virtual-reality game room to a boutique flower shop.
The $7 million Boxyard RTP complex will sit on 12 acres within the park's Frontier campus. Image: WRAL
Related Stories
| Jul 29, 2013
2013 Giants 300 Report
The editors of Building Design+Construction magazine present the findings of the annual Giants 300 Report, which ranks the leading firms in the AEC industry.
| Jul 19, 2013
Renovation, adaptive reuse stay strong, providing fertile ground for growth [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Increasingly, owners recognize that existing buildings represent a considerable resource in embodied energy, which can often be leveraged for lower front-end costs and a faster turnaround than new construction.
| Jul 11, 2013
Lawsuit challenges modular apartment project in New York City
A plan to build pre-fab apartment buildings at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, N.Y., has been challenged by a lawsuit filed by the Plumbing Foundation in Manhattan Supreme Court.
| Jul 10, 2013
TED talk: Architect Michael Green on why we should build tomorrow's skyscrapers out of wood
In a newly posted TED talk, wood skyscraper expert Michael Green makes the case for building the next-generation of mid- and high-rise buildings out of wood.
| Jul 2, 2013
LEED v4 gets green light, will launch this fall
The U.S. Green Building Council membership has voted to adopt LEED v4, the next update to the world’s premier green building rating system.
| Jul 1, 2013
Report: Global construction market to reach $15 trillion by 2025
A new report released today forecasts the volume of construction output will grow by more than 70% to $15 trillion worldwide by 2025.
| Jun 28, 2013
Building owners cite BIM/VDC as 'most exciting trend' in facilities management, says Mortenson report
A recent survey of more than 60 building owners and facility management professionals by Mortenson Construction shows that BIM/VDC is top of mind among owner professionals.
| Jun 13, 2013
AIA partners with industry groups to launch $30,000 'Designing Recovery' design competition
The program will award a total of $30,000 to three winning designs, divided equally between three locations: Joplin, Mo., New Orleans, and New York.
| Jun 10, 2013
Lake Washington STEM school combines modular and site-built construction to meet ambitious schedule
When the Lake Washington School District outside Seattle needed a new high school built on an ambitious permitting and construction schedule of seven months, modular construction proved to be an ideal solution.
| Jun 5, 2013
USGBC: Free LEED certification for projects in new markets
In an effort to accelerate sustainable development around the world, the U.S. Green Building Council is offering free LEED certification to the first projects to certify in the 112 countries where LEED has yet to take root.
