The 43-acre Lowe's Customer Support Center campus in Wilkesboro, North Carolina features a concrete paver grid intersected by five bands of bluestone pavers fanning out from each of the 8-foot tall vertical limestone columns within the water feature. Limestone veneered planters rise above the bluestone in three locations. Bosque elms were placed on the paver grid intersections. A concrete ADA ramp intersects the bluestone steps that lead toward the center's front doors. This sidewalk/ramp connection to the adjacent building's sidewalk separates the larger public space from a smaller, more intimate seating area (left). This area was poured in standard concrete with a 1-foot edge of blue stone banding that aligns with the overall paver grid.

Wilkesboro, North Carolina is a small town (pop. 3,413) in Wilkes County, situated in the northwestern part of the state on the south bank of the Yadkin River, a 215-mile waterway that runs through the western region of the Uwharrie National Forest. The views are to the Blue Ridge, Rendezvous and Brushy mountains.

Wilkesboro is generally identified with MerleFest, a roots-music festival named in honor of folk singer/flat-picking and slide guitarist Merle Watson, son of Doc Watson, a North Carolina native guitarist, singer and songwriter who won seven Grammy awards. MerleFest is presented by Lowe's. This year's four-day music event is April 24-27, and will again take place on the campus of Wilkes Community College.The area is ideal for those who enjoy outdoor pursuits. For the oenophile, there are 20 wineries within an hour's drive.

At Lowe's Customer Support Center a 1,000-square-foot water feature entirely blocks the view of the realigned loading dock area. The large water feature has 8-ft. tall, dry-stacked serpentine fieldstone walls with limestone clad horizontal elements that radiate into the plaza. The fountain equipment and lighting design is by Roman Fountains. See p.76.

In the commercial sector, however, the area is known as the home of Lowe's, the second-largest U.S. hardware chain. Lowe's was founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro. According to the retailer, the company has 1,754 stores across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with extensive plans to expand to Australia. Since 2010, the chain has been based in Mooresville, N.C., a 62 mile drive southeast of Wilkesboro.

Our story, however, is about the 43-acre Lowe's campus in Wilkesboro. It was originally a mall, but was converted to a customer support center campus for employees.

The back of the plaza offers terraced grass steps, inset step lighting, field stone clad seat walls with bluestone caps and a vegetated area that buffers the realigned drive from the parking lot. The modern pedestrian pole lighting design is the "Cubic Indirect' (Architectural Area Lighting), which features 30-inch sq. cutoff reflectors mounted on stainless steel vertical struts, and lamped with metal halides. The parking lot pole lights were relocated from a mall parking lot and repainted, as were the bollards. There are also LEDs (Kim Lighting) uplighting the landscape.

In 2008, Lowe's retained Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. to assist with much needed improvements, including overall rehabilitation of the parking lot.

As designs for the site progressed, Lowe's saw additional opportunities for improvements to the campus and the building. In addition to a walking trail, campus wayfinding/trail signage, and improved security features, Lowe's had a vision for an unused parking and loading dock/service area to extend the rejuvenated indoor dining court outside.

Because of the rocky subgrade, the fountain plumbing, filtration and electrical systems for the water feature is housed in an aboveground vault directly behind the fountain. The equipment room contains three skid-mounted pumps: a 5-hp pump to deliver water to the three cascade nozzles, a ???(R)???AE????-hp pump for the 12 smaller jet/light nozzles and a ???(R)???AE????-hp filter pump with sand filter, brominator and ionization system to treat the water. A fill manifold, located in the equipment room, maintains the proper fountain water level, a 5-hp variable frequency drive, and a U.L. Listed electrical control panel contains the required motor starters, breakers, contactors, disconnect switch and programmable timers. The vault is heated and air-conditioned for year-round protection of all plumbing and electrical equipment.

The loading dock was reoriented, and facility services were relocated to make room for a 9,000-square-foot plaza. The space also accommodates 500 square feet of performance space, 2,000 square feet of casual seating, and a 1,000-square-foot water feature that buffers the realigned loading dock area.

The plaza is bordered by almost 12,000 square feet of manicured landscaping designed to integrate with the natural scenic Wilkesboro landscape. Kimley-Horn also provided connections to the plaza from the improved sidewalks next to the building, as well as the new "Life Track" trail.

A large Lowe's logo (right) was custom cut from limestone for the water feature wall. Its dimensions are 4-inches thick, by 4-foot-tall by 11-foot-wide. The semicircular water basin spans 75 feet along the 15-ft. tall loading dock screen wall. Across the base of the wall are 12 angle-adjustable 3/8-inch orifice nozzles that shoot up a smooth, 3-ft. column of water. The nozzles each have a white LED donut surrounding the spray. In each of the three widest sections of the pool is a 2-inch cascade nozzle that creates a highly-aerated conical water column reaching 6-7 feet. Each of these three nozzles is equipped with two-stage wind compensators to control the height of the water in windy conditions. There are also 20 white LEDs that illuminate the pool water at the recessed edge where the granite blocks extend into the fountain. Two additional white LEDs are at each of the three cascade nozzles.

Water Feature
At the heart of the design is a large water feature that creates a functional separation from the loading dock area. The walls are veneered with dry stacked fieldstone, which is replicated on the walls throughout the plaza. Given the harsh and rocky subgrade, the water feature wall houses an aboveground vault to accommodate the fountain plumbing equipment, and provide additional storage. The room is heated and air-conditioned to provide year-round protection of all plumbing and electrical equipment.

The water feature incorporates decorative lighting, and low and high-level jets, which provide visual interest and a considerable amount of white noise for the plaza. The design and undulating shape of the water feature allow visitors sitting next to the water to be surrounded on both sides by moving water. Wind sensors on the roof of the water feature's equipment room lower the water output of the jets to prevent spraying onto the plaza when conditions get windy.

Radiating Hardscape
Extending out from the water feature, the plaza's hardscape design presents horizontal and vertical patterns for more interest. Bands of bluestone pavers radiate from the 8-foot tall vertical limestone columns within the water feature, separating the larger areas of colored concrete pavers set on an overall plaza grid. Within the bands of bluestone, large limestone veneered elements are exposed vertically to create a distinct edge to the water feature.

These elements also appear at varying locations within the plaza to create raised planters and seating. The planters are filled with a dense hedge of boxwoods, providing accents of green throughout the plaza. In addition, a 4-inch thick, 4-foot-tall by 11-foot-wide Lowe's logo was custom cut into limestone and set vertically on the wall adjacent to the water feature, separating the plaza from the loading area. The 300 square feet of 3-inch limestone veneer used for this project was sealed to provide an extra layer of protection from the weather and outdoor dining and plaza activities.

Planters, Ramps, Sidewalks and "Life Track"
Tall planters and a sidewalk/ramp connection to the adjacent building's sidewalk separate the large public space from a smaller, more intimate seating area. This area was poured in standard concrete with a 1-foot edge of blue stone banding that aligns with the overall paver grid. This ramp/sidewalk connects to the campus sidewalks and the dining court doors, cutting through the wide blue stone steps that also are veneered with dry stack fieldstone, with step lights inset at strategic locations. The raised fieldstone-veneered planters connect the improved building face to the plaza.

At the back of the hardscape design a winding concrete path connects the campus sidewalks to the "Life Track" trail, bringing a softer edge to the overall design. A mounded landscape lined with daylilies, sod, fountain grasses and evergreens creates a vegetated separation to the drive behind.

The loading dock (right) was reoriented, and facility services relocated to make room for a 9,000-square-foot plaza. Separating and shielding the new dock from the plaza is the crescent shaped water feature, from which emanates the paving grid. The plaza has 2,000 square feet of seating area, and 500 sq. ft. of performance space. The plaza is bordered by almost 12,000 sq. ft. of manicured landscaping. Kimley-Horn also provided connections to the plaza from the improved sidewalks next to the building, as well as the new "Life Track" trail at the backside of the plaza.

The grade separation connects to the larger plaza with fieldstone-clad serpentine walls capped with 2-inch blue stone, and openings at stair connections, as well as at the large terraced lawn steps that connect the event space to the plaza. The large terraced steps offer more seating and create a soft border to the pavers within the plaza.

Bosque Elms
Ten bosque elm trees are placed at the hardscape grid intersections, in addition to one at the top of the large stairs near the dining court doors, providing an elegant canopy and a sense of vertical scale. Power is supplied at each tree grate location, giving employees the ability to connect laptops or other electronics, and giving Lowe's opportunities to display decorative and seasonal lighting. The event space's low wall also has built in power to connect event and music equipment.

Pedestrian Lighting
The plaza showcases "Cubic Indirect' (Architectural Area Lighting) pedestrian lighting. Under the trees and throughout the space are "Catena' tables and "Verona' chairs, with accompanying cream-colored "Equinox' table umbrellas. There are also conveniently-located litter receptacles ("Presidio') throughout the plaza.

The materials used at the plaza were selected to mesh appropriately with the surrounding site context. They create a warm, welcoming sense of place and provide employees at the call center an attractive, well laid out designed space that is calming and engaging, a place to relax, dine and socialize during and after work.

Design Team
Client: Lowe's Companies, Inc.
Lowe's Project Manager: Tim Draughon
Landscape Architecture/Hardscape Design: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
Design Lead: Kyle Baugh, PLA (Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.)
Architect: Tabor Architecture
Civil Engineering: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
General Contractor: Vannoy Construction

Subcontractors
Limestone Planter Veneer Installation: Superior Stone
Limestone Supplier: Charles Luck Stone Center
Field Stone Veneer Supplier: H & H Enterprises
Blue Stone Cap and Paver Supplier: Charles Luck Stone Center
Concrete Pavers: Cemex
Concrete Paver Installation: Unit Paving
Fountain Equipment and Lighting Design: Roman Fountains
Fountain Equipment Installation: PFISTS, Inc.
Landscaping Installation: Stuarts Landscaping