Architectural design awards for 2006

Design judges Charles Jeffcoat, Robert Griffin, Chris Schmitt, and John Temple Ligon

By John Temple Ligon
Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

Columbia architect Leland Suddeth pulled together a team of four judges to meet at the Columbia Marriott a couple of weeks ago to decide the best building designs in the Columbia area for 2006. The criteria to qualify included either a Midlands location or origin. In other words, the building had to be local or designed by a local firm, regardless of site.

The four design judges were Robert Griffin of Asheville, Chris Schmitt of Charleston, and Charles Jeffcoat and John Temple Ligon of Columbia. Griffin and Schmitt are founders and principals in their respective architectural design practices. They are frequently invited by architecture schools as visiting critics. Jeffcoat is the campus architect for the University of South Carolina. Ligon is a lecturer on architecture and urban design and the founder of the Wren Institute for Urban Research in Columbia.

The dozens of entries were entered into categories and compared with their competitors in the same categories. There were nine honor awards and one merit mention. Overall, there was a best of show, the one favorite design regardless of category.

The honor award for a campus building went to The Boudreaux Group for the USC West Quad Residence Hall & Learning Center.

The honor award for historic preservation went to Garvin Design Group for Granby Mill and to CDA Architects for The Kirkland Apartments.

The honor award for a commercial building went to Garvin Design Group for Harley Haven.

The honor award for an urban structure sensitive to streetscape went to Stevens & Wilkinson of South Carolina Inc. for the Meridian Building.

The honor award for interior architecture went to LS3P Associates LTD for Mossy Creek Elementary School and to Quackenbush Architects and Planners for Midlands Technical College Airport Campus Cafe.

The honor award for streetscape went to Watson Tate Savory for USC's Bull Street Parking Garage.

The merit mention for a school went to The Boudreaux Group Inc. for Blythewood High School.

The top honor award above all categories went to Watson Tate Savory for its home offices, its Columbia headquarters on Washington Street in the adapted Edgar Morris Law Office building. Ferillo & Associates, a Columbia-based public relations and advertising firm, is a ground-floor tenant in the Watson Tate Savory headquarters building.

The Columbia chapter of the American Institute of Architects design awards ceremony banquet is scheduled for November 17, 6-9 pm, in the Columbia Museum of Art.