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Richland Two Center for Knowledge

Richland School District Two

Completion Date
August 2007

Project Budget
$1.69 Million

A prime example of how older buildings can be recycled and find new life, the renovation/addition for Richland School District Two's Center for Knowledge transforms two unoccupied classroom buildings into an innovative school community with simple, strategic renovation planning and a modest but careful addition. The solution recently received two awards: an Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects Columbia Chapter, and the "Best in Class- Renovation" award by the SC Chapter of the Council of Educational Facility Planners (CEFPI).

A modest sized addition is placed between the two renovated classroom wings to create a new office and campus entrance. The addition's finish floor elevation is set between the two wings, minimizing the transition in grade and anchoring the accessibility path between the classroom buildings. The front lobby is day-lit with a generous floor to ceiling curtainwall façade that reinforces the sense of openness while providing staff an opportunity to observe visitors approaching the campus. An architectural marquee is featured perpendicular to the front entrance, reinforcing the new identity for CFK and countering the horizontality of the classroom buildings. An amphitheater is sculpted from the grade between the two classroom wings and addition, providing the outdoor teaching and gathering space so strongly advocated by teachers and students. Its organic form animates what was previously a grassed, non-descript space difficult to monitor or use constructively.

Showcase Project

SCVRD Lyman Center

As the first new Center to be built for the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department in over twenty years, the Lyman Center reflects the current mission and philosophy of the Department, providing counseling, rehabilitation, and work production services. The new 35,000sf structure, to be constructed in two phases, is subdivided into three major program components: an area office, a 10,000sf production/training floor, and a special services unit for occupational and physical therapy. Designed for an organization that values its relationships within the business community, the facility appeals to corporate and technological aesthetics while also blending with its organic, wooded site on the Middle Tyger River.

Middle School Seven Construction

Richland School District Two’s new Middle School is located in the rapidly growing Blythewood area and will initially accommodate 1050 students. The 40 acre site includes play fields and a planned area for a future center magnet program. The building was oriented north/south on the site to maximize daylighting in all the major learning spaces and in corridor and public spaces.

OC Tech rolls out new Transportation Center

Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College officially opened the doors of the Anne S. Crook Transportation and Logistics Center on Monday with pledges that it will provide workers with the skills they need and boost the region's economy. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican who helped get $1.5 million in federal funds for the building, said "The building that I'm talking about today, named after a wonderful person, is going to allow this part of South Carolina to offer the educational skills to people who live in our area to get some of the best jobs in the 21st century."