Star Profile
Doug Quackenbush, architect
By John Temple Ligon
Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

Born in Charlotte, Doug Quackenbush spent his toddler years moving around urban North Carolina as his pharmacist father moved up in the Eckerd Drugs organization. After attending middle school in Charleston, Quackenbush came to Irmo High School, graduating in 1978.

Quackenbush went directly to architecture school at Clemson when Harlan McClure was in his last few years as dean. After four years and a bachelor's in architecture, Quackenbush was invited to stay for another two years and a master's degree, which he earned in 1984.

Columbia-based Boudreaux Group offered Quackenbush his first job in architecture, and he stayed with them for another 20 years. He left Boudreaux in 2004, and he took a lot of pride with what he left behind, particularly in his last year. His last projects at Boudreaux where he was principal- in-charge included the Drew Wellness Center, Dreher High School, Blythewood High School, and the Precision Machine building at Midlands Tech on Beltline.

His wife is Cheryl Holland, certified financial planner and owner of Abacus on Devine Street. When he left Boudreaux in 2004, Quackenbush temporarily located in the back rooms of his wife's offices. He has since relocated to Hampton Street, next to developer Tom Prioreschi and across from the Marriott Hotel. Soon he should double his square feet as he expands into adjacent office space.

Quackenbush's first- year wins include a magnet school next to E. L. Wright called the Center for Knowledge and another magnet school for Richland School District Two on the Summit Parkway, the Center for Inquiry. Also, Quackenbush scored the interior space planning and upfit designs for the new Meridian Building anchored by the Nelson Mullins law firm.

City planning circles are familiar with Quackenbush's designs for the Five Points streetscape. Begun as a volunteer effort at Boudreaux, his Five Points project is evolving as a complete new zoning overlay to reinforce the urbanity in the shopping and entertainment village. He finds the flood- prone characteristics unfortunate, but for his surface streetscape architecture, he can't connect with the problem. Storm drainage is a whole different matter under study by other firms.

Another planning project of note, one that stayed in the proposal mode, was what Quackenbush and The Mungo Co. wanted to do on CanalSide. Before Mungo came on board, the plans for CanalSide actually began with the Winter Group, a development firm in Atlanta, in 1997. Charleston-based Beach Co. eventually won out as the developers of CanalSide.

Quackenbush and his wife Cheryl have one daughter, Hanna. Quackenbush is up early for his 5:30 appointment with the workout machines at Hampton Hill. He gets back to the house by 6:30, as his wife leaves for her office.

Together the three travel extensively. The next adventure is to Tuscany for two weeks with side trips to Rome and Venice.

With constant improvement and continuous travels, Quackenbush is fully educated and thoroughly exposed in world architecture, but he has no favorite guru. He is not a disciple. On the other hand, he does cite the work that piques his interest, some of the stuff that might show up in his office on Hampton Street and later on a Columbia street.

Doug Quackenbush