The North Carolina Research Campus core laboratory is a 311,000 square foot state-of-the-art biotechnology and research facility built on the former Pillowtex mill site in Kannapolis, North Carolina. The addition, and every building on campus is designed to meet green building standards (LEED), comprises five percent of like-projects that have been nationally certified. 

The intent of the project is to attract young talent to the region and revitalize the area to spur business growth, infrastructure improvements, and improve water treatment efforts that surround the 350 acre campus facility. At the heart of the campus is a mansard roof to visually reduce the scale of the building and eliminate a boxy appearance. The steel roof structure is exposed to the atmosphere and to eliminate any corrosion from forming, it has been hot-dip galvanized to provide maintenance free performance for the life of the structure. The specific design of the structure serves as a visual screen for mechanical systems, as well as an attractive eye-catching look that represents campus ideology. 151 tons of steel were galvanized, including wide flange beams, columns, tubes, angles, plates and channels. 220 tons of steel was used to complete the project. Hot-dip galvanizing the mansard roof not only made the assembly quick, it eliminated costly repairs down-the-road for decades of corrosion-free performance that will allow the campus to focus on what is really importantbiotechnological research.