Live Oak Bank
Fitpark
This hybrid fitness and parking structure for a growing corporate financial campus celebrates a unified aesthetic and a contemporary materials palette of wood, steel, and glass. Sustainability, connectivity, and transparency are key design goals; this parking and wellness facility embodies all three. The south side of the building provides 600 spaces of parking and connections to the surrounding community, while the linear bar to the north of the building connects with the pedestrian-oriented campus with expansive views to the natural site.
LOCATION: Wilmington, NC
SIZE: 200,505 SF
COMPLETED: 2019
PHOTOGRAPHER: Melva Calder
Connections to Nature
The design rethinks the paradigm of the traditional office parking garage and how it relates to its campus environment. The fitness component of the program laminates a usable, active façade on the parking structure and provides an attractive visual buffer from the adjacent campus buildings. The language of the structure on the exterior and interior is a direct connection to the verticality of the site’s longleaf pine trees.
Our goal as a bank is for each client that comes in the door to feel like they are our only customer. That’s the experience I get from LS3P.
Chip Mahan | Live Oak Bank Chief Executive Officer
World-Class Amenities
In keeping with the client’s commitment to providing world-class workspaces for its employees, the 18,000 SF fitness space features yoga, group, and cardio studios; fitness equipment; a clinic space operated by a local healthcare partner; rooftop deck; and outdoor exercise spaces in an expansive, open environment. The exterior formal language responds to the program with a grand entrance and a massing which is broken down for the studios, clinic, and rooftop deck, culminating in the rhythmic nature of the main workout zone. Rooftop solar panels help to power the building and support campus sustainability initiatives, while EV charging stations encourage a more sustainable commute.
Awards
AIA North Carolina Honor Design Award (2020); AIA Wilmington Design Award (2020); 2020 Gold Key Award for Best Lobby Midscale ; Honorable Mention for the 2019 Building North Carolina awards; Cape Fear CREW Placemaking Award Finalist – CREW Awards of Excellence (2021)
