CLEMSON ARCHITECTURE CENTER in Charleston, SC
CLEMSON ARCHITECTURE CENTER in Charleston, SC from Kristin Hawk
CLEMSON ARCHITECTURE CENTER in Charleston, SC

PROGRAM: The 19,000 SF center is sited within a residential Historic District, between a traditional Charleston Single House & a bank parking lot (the bank facing Meeting Street). The Client requested an environmentally responsible building that celebrates the environment.
CONCEPT: The programmatic spaces are separated between thinking & making, encouraging movement between the buildings and reflecting the process of design. Since the architecture students generally live in standard apartments in the newer suburbs, this design offers students & faculty the sensory experiences of traditional Charleston living in a modern building. The indoor spaces are one room wide to capture the cross breezes, increase natural lighting and allow the sounds and fragrance from the interior courtyard to enter the buildings.

Design Concept Diagram: 2 buildings, one holding thinking spaces, the other holding making spaces, similar to the back and forth process of design. 4 points of the design that relate to traditional Charleston: Holding the edge of the sidewalk; Long rectangular form and courtyard with "mannerly wall"; Use of traditional materials: stucco / wood / blue stone; Sensory experience of outdoor environment.
1/16" site model: Shows bank building to the right (west ) which faces the busier Meeting Street, and to the left (east) a traditional Charleston Single house adjacent to a quieter historic neighborhood.
1/16th scale model in site || Sited in Historic downtown Charleston, the design includes a center courtyard with reflecting pool, an outdoor stair containing a rainwater cistern with connections to the reflecting pool and a spigot for the neighboring Single House, and uses the concept of the "mannerly wall" to create a defined side courtyard for the Charleston Single house to the East and (one) to reduce the afternoon glare from the west.
Courtyard elevation: Exterior stair with cistern to the left, historic house for Spoleto Festival HQ across the street. The back stairwell also contains a cistern for the water collection from the roof, that will supply water for the courtyard. The open stairwell to the front of the building houses display spaces for student artwork as they pass into the building's studio spaces.
Elevation of Section Model (1/2" = 1') : The wall to the courtyard, and behind it the workshop on ground level and design studios above. Building envelope of of polycarbonate, oak and glass with a precast concrete structure.
1/2" Section Model: Shows workshop and studio ('Making") space to the right, with the seminar rooms, library and office ('Thinking") spaces to the left. Both buildings on the site focus on the central courtyard, similar but larger than the side courtyards on a Charleston Single House.
West wall with pop-outs containing study nooks. The intention is for minimal glazing to reduce afternoon glare in the studio space as well as minimizing the view of the back of the bank, while providing an interesting facade adjacent to the bank parking lot.
Structural Section. Also shows massing and location of neighboring Charleston Single House (left) with front door entry at (private) side porch. (enlarge for detail)
Clemson Architectural Center, Charleston, SC - The design incorporates a center courtyard with a long reflecting pool and outdoor stair with a collection cistern.
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CLEMSON ARCHITECTURE CENTER in Charleston, SC

PROGRAM: The 19,000 SF center is sited within a residential Historic District, between a traditional Charleston Single House & a bank parking lot (the bank facing Meeting Street). The Client requested an environmentally responsible building that celebrates the environment.
CONCEPT: The programmatic spaces are separated between thinking & making, encouraging movement between the buildings and reflecting the process of design. Since the architecture students generally live in standard apartments in the newer suburbs, this design offers students & faculty the sensory experiences of traditional Charleston living in a modern building. The indoor spaces are one room wide to capture the cross breezes, increase natural lighting and allow the sounds and fragrance from the interior courtyard to enter the buildings.

Kristin Hawk
Architectural Designer Wilmington, NC