Witherspoon Student Center at North Carolina State University (NC State) in Raleigh, NC is a multi-faceted facility on campus; bridging legacy and functionality to meet the needs of a bustling campus. The building’s namesake is Augustus M. Witherspoon, forever immortalized at NC State for his extraordinary contributions to the community. Witherspoon is venerated for his academic accomplishments as the second African American to earn a PhD from NC State, eventually becoming the first African American professor to teach at the college. His scholarly career led him to becoming a staple of the community as a recognized researcher and as a beloved professor. Echoing his importance to the community and honoring his memory, Witherspoon Student Center houses several campus amenities: NC State’s African American Cultural Center, Military and Veteran Services, Student Media, Passport Office, and campus cinema. Originally completed in 1990, interior elements of the facility were recently renovated with ATAS’ custom beam and baffle panels to modernize the building.

Featured on ceilings in Witherspoon are tapered ATAS Lineair Plank panels in .032 aluminum in a custom woodgrain color. The panels are nestled in white perimeter ceiling bays, four bays in total, which enact a soffit-like appearance and creates unique effects.

The woodgrain adds hints of warmth to the coolness of the space, contrasting the stark white edge and the dark ceiling, generating aesthetically pleasing optical illusions. The design of the panels is dynamic, producing two distinct visuals depending on your vantage point. Approaching the room from afar, the hovering panels have a woven effect like that of a basket weave. The all-black suspension system and black ceiling work together behind the ceiling panels to make an ideal background for illusory effects. The panels appear to float freely on the ceiling as the crisp edges of the panels stand out. The suspended panel edges reflect light and highlight the distinct lines with the panel tapering creating a zigzag, lattice effect. The diversity in design also required a few functional adjustments, ATAS happily meeting the project’s needs for accessibility and accommodation.

“It was a super cool job,” recalled Kevin Cox, Director of Interior Business Development for ATAS. “We can make all the standard ceiling panel profiles and a lot of custom ones. We don’t shy away from those. We’re a little more innovative in our approach to it, but we can meet design needs where other manufacturers don’t because we’ve been working with metal for over half a century,” said Cox.

The project required quick thinking to make sure there could be access to the ceiling and to accommodate technology, like speakers. An innovative solution was to modify a clip used in standard application to be applied in a flexible fashion to meet the project’s needs. The standard clip is designed to be mechanically fastened to a grid but to achieve this project’s required elements, the clip was adapted in this project’s application to rely on folded tabs and the T-bar suspension to create the desired aesthetic effect and be functional. Because of the adapted application feature, the panels are given a range of flexibility in that they can move, be opened, closed, and adjusted freely. A second functional element of the project that needed to be accounted for was space for speakers. Quickly pivoting with mathematics, the panel lengths were adjusted to accommodate the desire to adhere speakers to the ceiling on the same plane as the panels. The speakers seamlessly integrate with the black T-bar system and ceiling, fitting in between the ceiling panels to maintain its visual appeal while remaining flexible to the needs of the space. The ability to meet design requirements while not sacrificing aesthetics is a key element of ATAS metal panels.

“We excel in making people’s visions a reality. Our tenure, our ability, allows us to take something from conception to completion. ATAS metal ceiling panels are manufactured to last, prioritizing longevity and high-quality materials.,” Cox explained.

Lineair Plank is available in over 40 stock, 70% PVDF colors with woodgrain and stucco embossing options available. The panels are available in .032, .040, .050 and .063 aluminum. As an interior product, Lineair Plank can have sound absorption material adhered inside the panel and be microperforated for acoustic performance. The panels require minimal maintenance and while projects like Witherspoon boast the look of woodgrain, the panels, unlike traditional wood beams, are fire resistant, and not susceptible to warp, crack, or rot. The practical benefits and the range of design options make it an ideal product to add sophistication to any space.

The project’s balance of the traditional and custom elements results in a modern, forward-thinking renovation. The design is an eye-catching accent to the room, providing different pleasing effects wherever it catches your eye. Such dynamisms are a testament to the flexibility ATAS interior panels offer to achieve any vision, from conception to completion. The final design landed Witherspoon Student Center the First-Place award in the Interiors category of ATAS’ 2024 Project of the Year Awards. The architect of the project was CRA Associates, Inc. The general contractors who installed the panels were Salisbury and Moore, and the panels were distributed by Colonial Materials, Inc.

Bringing designs together like Witherspoon is part of the joy of what makes ATAS special. “We lean into our custom capabilities, and into the design community’s and customer’s needs, wants, and desires. The best part of these projects is to take something that is unique and hasn’t been done before and make it possible!” Cox shared.

Witherspoon Student Center is a prime example of ATAS’ enthusiasm to rise to a project’s functional needs and turn them into design elements, merging the aesthetically pleasing and practical with decades of metal panel finesse.