Star Profile
Architect Scott Garvin
By John Temple Ligon Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

Scott Garvin

The Garvin Design Group, a collection of registered architects and support staff, is located in the building at the northwest corner of Lincoln Street and Gervais Street and on the second floor above Starbuck's.

Scott Garvin, CEO, and his firm crank out a surprising volume of commendable work.

Garvin was born in Aiken, where his father still develops real estate and close to where his grandfather was elected to the S.C. Legislature. His mother stayed at home to raise him and his older sister.

After kindergarten and grammar school in Mead Hall, Garvin went to Aiken Junior High and Aiken High, where he played basketball with William "Refrigerator" Perry.

Garvin was third in his graduating class, and waited until the last minute to decide between engineering and architecture. Garvin decided on architecture after taking a career and talent orientation test at Presbyterian College in Clinton.

Garvin enrolled in the architecture school's six- year master's program at Clemson University.

Once Garvin started taking courses in the graduate level, he was allowed to spend six months on the Clemson campus in Genoa, Italy, where he took advantage of every opportunity to see Europe's best.

While at Clemson, Garvin worked one summer with architect Kirk Craig, a Fellow with the American Institute of Architects, and another summer with architect Jim Neal. Both Craig and Neal had home offices in Greenville.

Garvin worked with Craig for three years after his Clemson graduation. He worked on Greenville's Peace Center for the Performing Arts, a plan he currently has in his Gervais Street office for alterations and expansions.

Through Craig, Garvin got to know Hayne Hipp, former head of Liberty Corp.

In 1988, Garvin moved to Columbia to work with the Boudreaux Group, an architectural firm also located on Gervais Street in the Vista.

While with Boudreaux, Garvin designed USC's Strom Thurmond Wellness Center, Shandon Baptist Church on Forest Besides the alterations Drive, renovations for Logan Elementary on Elmwood, and Liberty Corp.'s headquarters on Greenville's Main Street.

Three months after leaving Boudreaux in 2003 to set up shop as the Garvin Design Group, Garvin expanded with a staff of six. Since then they have designed Olympia Mills and Granby Mills residences and USC's Honors College residences, S.C.'s first LEED Gold building. LEED Gold is the highest status for conservation accommodation.

The conversion of the Olympia and Granby textile buildings into residences led to two similar projects in Connecticut and another two in Massachusetts, all with the same Philadelphia- based developer. to the Peace Center, Garvin's firm is working on the 701 Whaley Building, the former chamber music venue that just about fell down before renovations began. Another interesting building under way is USC's Band and Dance, a facility below Bates Dorm on a landfill site.

Harley Haven is another Garvin design product.

At last count, the Garvin Design Group had four registered architects and an interior designer with AISD certification.

Garvin and his wife Mary and their four daughters are all serious swimmers. His daughters swim competitively, and his wife Mary is a real tennis threat with a 3.5- 4.0 team placement.