Durham Visitors Information Center Renovation
Durham, NC
Client
Size
Completion Date
Awards
Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau
40,000 square feet
2015
Durham City-County Golden Leaf Awards, 2018 | DesignWorks Award by IIDA Carolinas for Excellence in Interior Design Award, 2017 | Space Awards, Triangle Business Journal, 2017
Architect
Our role
Perkins&Will
Kenneth Luker served as Design Principal during previous association with Perkins&Will.
All photographs © Monica Slaney Photography unless otherwise indicated.
The new Durham Visitors Information Center (VIC) is located on the ground level of the historic Trust Building in downtown Durham. Moving Durham’s VIC from the edge of downtown to a historic building in the core of downtown was an opportunity to reconsider how the VIC engages visitors. No longer on the periphery of downtown and surrounded by a parking lot, the design opens to the busy sidewalks of downtown and beckons all passersby – locals and visitors alike – to enter and explore. Its prominent Main Street location gives the VIC direct access to the vibrant energy and activities of this historic city. The VIC includes a large, high-ceiling public reception space featuring an undulating information desk at its center with a luminous, cloud-like fixture overhead. Beyond the public reception space are meeting rooms, offices, and work areas for DCVB staff.
The design of the VIC and adjoining offices for the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau was part of a whole-building renovation of this historic, six story brick and stone structure. In addition to the VIC, the ground floor also includes retail, a small event space, and a recording studio. The DCVB offices occupy a mezzanine level while the upper floors were converted from a labyrinth of private offices to more open, flexible co-working environments serving a variety of tenants.
The VIC occupies most of the ground level of the historic Trust Building built in 1905. At the time of its construction, it was the tallest office building in North Carolina and featured Durham’s first elevator. The tall ceilings and terrazzo flooring of the VIC’s reception lobby date to the original ground level tenant, Home Savings Bank.
