Archinect - News

Foster + Partners completes South Carolina administrators building behind warm-colored metal and glass

2024-01-19T12:02:00-05:00

Foster + Partners has completed a new home for Greenville County administrators in South Carolina. The new Greenville County Administration Building spans four stories and is designed with a glass curtain wall that “symbolically removes the boundary between the public and government officials.”

Photo: Brandon Stengel, courtesy of Foster + Partners

The scheme forms part of the wider Greenville County Square master plan by RocaPoint Partners, which seeks to create a link between Falls Park, Cancer Survivor’s Park, and the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The administration building, described by the team as “the cornerstone of the community,” is located on the corner of Church Street and University Ridge.

Photo: Brandon Stengel, courtesy of Foster + Partners

“The building will make a significant contribution to Greenville County, acting as a place for local people to meet in serene natural surro...

Take a look inside the new International African American Museum ahead of its opening

2023-06-05T17:41:00-04:00

One of the most anticipated projects of the summer is ready to make its official public debut later this month as the finishing touches are being put in place for the new Moody Nolan and Pei Cobb Freed-designed International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina.

Sited along the city’s historic harbor that was, in its heyday, the “ground zero” of the slave trade in the southern United States, the museum seeks to educate visitors using a series of nine thematic galleries and the “power of place” present in its location at Gadsden’s Wharf.

The project is the culmination of over two decades of planning, advocacy, and design consultations between both firms, varied stakeholders, historians, politicians, and residents whose collaborations, in the end, beget what ought to become a transformative testament to the power of storytelling for Americans of every background.

Credit: © Sahar Coston-Hardy/Esto. All rights res...

Opening of the anticipated International African American Museum pushed back due to climate control problems

2022-12-22T17:32:00-05:00

The International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina, will postpone its scheduled opening date next month due to unresolved climate control issues in its new building. The museum was expected to open on 21 January 2023 and now expects to open sometime in the first half of next year, according to a statement released on 16 December.

Construction of the Moody Nolan and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners-designed International African American Museum (IAAM) began in the fall of 2019 after nearly two decades of planning. In April, a request for additional funding was submitted to the city of Charleston in order to complete the genealogy center that’s planned for the museum. The board apparently had known about the HVAC issues for some time and is now planning a new special exhibition in the interregnum.

“I was as excited about this opening as everyone else,” museum President Tonya M. Matthews told supporters via email. “I am an overachiever and I am ambitious. I honor and respect things like deadlines, but this is a huge responsibility and we will do what we need to make sure that we present this museum and the stories we tell in an extraordinary light.”

Moody Nolan and Pei Cobb Freed set an opening date for South Carolina’s International African American Museum

2022-08-04T13:50:00-04:00

The much-awaited debut of the Moody Nolan and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners-designed International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina, now has an official opening date after the latter announced it will be available to the public for the first time on January 21st, 2023.

This is an important project to both offices as over 22 years of planning have gone into the creation of the almost $100 million new institution. Its location on the site of the city’s former Gadsden’s Wharf is significant, too, as Charleston Harbor is considered the “ground zero” of the North Atlantic slave trade, a place where 48.1% of all enslaved Africans entered the United States, according to Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a Harvard professor, historian, and early contributor to the project.

Image courtesy International African American Museum.

The museum's website, therefore, outlines a mission to “create an opportunity for visitors to engage with authentic and lesser-known history through tran...

Quo vadis, Charleston architecture?

2015-01-23T14:15:00-05:00

Long accustomed to basing its reputation on the grandeur of its old buildings, the city now finds it almost impossible to agree on how to build new ones. In recent months, traditionalists have blocked efforts to introduce contemporary architecture in the historic core [...]. Modernists are rolling their eyes at new buildings that copy traditional styles, arguing that they pervert a record of architectural progress long documented in mortar and stone.

Don't miss these heated discussions on the subject matter:

Get Lectured: Clemson School of Architecture, Spring '14

2014-03-24T12:56:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2014

Archinect's Get Lectured is up and running again for the Winter/Spring '14 term! As a refresher from our Fall 2013 guide, every week we'll feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current season. If you're not doing so already, be sure to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Our next poster comes from the Clemson School of Architecture, with two lectures left in April for the season.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Lectures will take place at Lee 111 auditorium at 1:30 pm.

April 4
Rocío Pina, Carmelo Rodríguez / PKMN (PAC-MAN) Arquitectura - Madrid

April 18
Tom Leader / Tom Leader Studio - Berkeley, CA

Recordings of previous lectures can be found here.

For further details, click here.

Get Lectured: Clemson School of Architecture Fall '13

2013-09-26T10:22:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2013

Here on Archinect we recently launched "Get Lectured", where we'll feature a school's lecture series--along with their snazzy posters--for the current season. Check back regularly to stay up-to-date and mark your calendars for any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Our list for today is the Centennial Lecture Series from the Clemson School of Architecture, who is celebrating its 100-year anniversary.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

All lectures will be at 1:30 pm at Lee 111 Auditorium, unless noted otherwise.

AUGUST

August 22
7 pm
Michael Murphy / MASS Design Boston
Special A+H at 45! Lecture. Fall Convocation.

SEPTEMBER

September 20
Betsy Beaman, AIA, IIDA, SEGD
Kimberly Stanley, AIA / Stanley Beaman & Sears, Atlanta

OCTOBER

October 4
Mark Carroll
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Genoa/NYC

October 18
The Arch...

The Carolinas Work to Clarify Their Borders

2012-04-09T17:19:00-04:00

In an ambitious project, the states of North Carolina and South Carolina are trying to set the record straight. After years of historical research and old-fashioned survey work mixed with global positioning technology, they are moving the boundary back to where it belongs.