Kean University Highlands  – Oak Ridge, NJ

DETAILS

Exterior Cladding:
DUNCAN 2.0 – shou sugi ban charred Western Red Cedar
STK (Select Tight Knot)
Burnt on face only, sealed all 4 sides (exterior)
Solid +/- 3/4″ thick x +/- 5″ wide x 6′-16′ RL – Shiplap

Burnt on face and two long edges, sealed all 4 sides (exterior)
Solid +/- 1″ thick x +/- 7-1/4″ wide x 6′-16′ RL – S4S

Burnt on face and two long edges, sealed all 4 sides (exterior)
Solid +/- 3/4″ thick x +/- 5-1/2″ wide x 6′-16′ RL – S4S

WHISTLER – prefinished Western Red Cedar
STK (Select Tight Knot)
finished on face only, sealed all 4 sides (exterior)
Solid +/- 3/4″ thick x +/- 5″ wide x 6′-16′ RL – Shiplap

Balcony Railing Slats:
DUNCAN 2.0 – shou sugi ban charred western red cedar
STK (Select Tight Knot)
Burnt and sealed all 4 sides (exterior)
Solid +/- 3/4” thick x +/- 5-1/2” wide
Solid +/- 3/4” thick x +/- 2-1/2” wide
S4S

5/4 x 8 Shades:
DUNCAN 2.0 – shou sugi ban charred western red cedar
STK (Select Tight Knot)
Burnt and sealed all 4 sides (exterior)
Solid +/- 1” thick x +/- 7-1/4” wide
S4S

Interior Cladding:
CUSTOM 110819-A Western Red Cedar
STK (Select Tight Knot)
Unfinished
Solid 3/4″ thick x 5″ wide x 12′ lengths
Tongue & Groove

This new academic building at Kean University Skylands is known as a “classroom in the trees”. This project features DUNCAN 2.0 exterior cladding, Custom Western Red Cedar exterior cladding, and custom interior cladding. This build brings students closer to nature, surrounded by the forest that is frequently an object of study. Kean University opened its Skylands campus by leasing bucolic lakefront land in the New Jersey Highlands from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. This land led to limitations that limited the buildable area, resulting in this stacked build referred to as “the Cabin”. This solution comprises of six classrooms, two per floor, stacked on top of one another. The roof offers a sheltered observation deck that supports outdoor learning and events that connects the building to the rest of campus through the existing skywalk.

“Materials are utilitarian and humble: outside, charred wood siding connects the building to its context…” says NK Architects.

DUNCAN 2.0 is carefully charred, misted with water, cooled, brushed, and then stained/sealed.  The burning process accentuates the wood grain and creates varying colors when viewed from different angles and in different light. Charred Cedar features shou sugi ban charred Western Red Cedar in a range of colors from a stark, vertical grain black to a knotty natural brown. Western Red Cedar has been used as a consistent and high-performing exterior wood siding for hundreds of years.

reSAWN offers Western Red Cedar because it’s one of North America’s great renewable resources. In addition to its prominence as sustainable exterior material, it’s very durable and is one of the lightest commercial softwoods. It is an expansive and popular tree in the Pacific Northwest region of North America.

At NK Architects, they partner with mission-driven organizations who are committed to serving their communities. Their purpose: empowering healthcare providers, educators, and allied organizations to leverage design in pursuit of individual and collective wellbeing. With their integrated team of architects, interior designers, planners, and engineers, they advocate for the people who are served by the spaces they design.