Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business Building, Clemson University South Carolina, SC Architecture Photos
Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, Clemson University, South Carolina
February 14, 2022
Design: LMN Architects with LS3P
Location: 105 Sikes Hall, Clemson, SC 29634, South Carolina, United States
Photos by Mark Herboth Photography
Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, Clemson University, SC, USA
LMN Architects And LS3P Complete The Wilbur O. And Ann Powers College Of Business At Clemson University
The 176,000 sft building is the first new academic building in 100 years adjacent to bowman field and has been designed to promote collaboration, research, and interaction with industry.
Seattle, Washington – February 14, 2022 – LMN Architects celebrates the completion of the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business at Clemson University. The project designed in collaboration with LS3P is a new hub for students intended to anchor Clemson’s historic heart as part of a planned expansion embracing the surrounding campus.
Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and sited prominently at the highest point in the area, the five-story Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business creates a new gateway for Clemson University. Inspired by the hills and natural landscape around the site, the building is carved out of the hillside and maximizes accessibility with five entry points that converge at the central atrium.
Wendy York, Dean of the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business at Clemson University, comments: “As one of the major capital projects funded under our Clemson Forward 10-year strategic plan, the new Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business has created a new gateway to the University. The design team envisioned a student-centric think tank environment that provides a dynamic environment for student/faculty engagement, active learning, and student body socialization. The new facility has been transformational for our students and faculty, helping the University make a bold statement about the importance of the College at Clemson. Our new building is a huge game-changer.”
A grand public stair flows between the complex’s north and south wings to draw movement westward and down from nearby residence halls into the campus’ historic core, featuring the venerable Bowman Field and Tillman Hall. The project welcomes students on three levels and opens to Bowman Field at its base, where classrooms link to daily campus life. Above grade, the project reaches skyward to a dramatic effect as spacious, daylight-filled common areas inspire students, faculty, and community partners to explore possibilities together.
Rafael Viñoly-Menendez, Partner, LMN Architects, comments: “Our collaboration on the project with LS3P and Clemson University began with the charge from former Dean McCormick to create an “unleavable” home for students from across campus. As the first new academic building adjacent to Bowman Field in over a century, the architecture needed to be respectful of its neighbors, while projecting an aspirational vision of Clemson’s standing in the world for the next 100 years. The project site, at the nexus of academic, residential, and social zones of campus, afforded a unique opportunity to consolidate these energies in a singular hub of activity, extroverting the activity of the business school and activating the surrounding campus.”
This technology-rich, immersive, educational experience stands out as the newest element on campus with an expansive glass façade, high ceilings, and a grand, connecting stairway illuminating an entrepreneurial focus. Elevating recognition, recruitment, and rankings, the complex prepares students to enter today’s competitive marketplace as leaders. Like a modern workplace, a mix of formal and informal spaces encourages hands-on participation through chance encounters, focused study, team collaboration, research laboratories, and group presentations.
Additionally, various amenities are available for students to come and stay all day, including food service and lounge areas. A combination of tiered, flat, flexible, and high-tech classrooms is based on a common module to allow for pedagogical change over time. Outdoors, interaction spaces, and landscaped areas invite ongoing discussion beyond the classrooms. Environments simulating real-world experiences in sales and financial trading, as well as a designated business incubator, strengthen the chance to join forces with the professional community and launch students’ careers.
Scott May, Higher Education Sector Leader, LS3P, comments: “It was clear from the inception of the project that this building would be a community anchor for this new campus district. The focus on connection and transparency is evident in the welcoming, vibrant gathering spaces that mirror the topography of the site. The flexibility of the building will allow it to adapt to as-yet-unforeseen needs as pedagogies and technologies evolve over time. This is a durable, collaborative, resilient building designed to serve its occupants well into the future.”
The interior palette is also inspired by the site and is defined by natural materials that echo the solidity of the mountains and celebrate the horizontal strata of the hillside. On the upper levels, vertical and crisp textures contrast and symbolize how the building stands on a solid and rich historic campus but is open to innovation with contemporary and lighter materials.
Honoring the past and looking to the future, the building’s brick façade respects its larger historic and natural context, while modern construction technology allows for maximizing both transparency and energy efficiency. The transparent electrochromic glass façade in the atrium is transformed by natural light, and the opacity is stimulated and activated by the changing seasons. Connecting the building with the hill, and the hill with the building, this open and transparent composition anticipates the future while redefining Clemson’s historic campus and establishing a new destination for business education.
LMN Architects is a leader in the design of higher education facilities in North America. Other completed projects include the Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington; the Voxman Music Building at the University of Iowa in Iowa City; the Edward J. Minskoff Pavilion at Michigan State University; and the Interdisciplinary Science Center at Eastern Washington University.
Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, Clemson University – Building Information
Project Title: Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business.
Location: Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina.
Client: Clemson University.
Design Years: 2015-2017.
Construction Years: 2017-2020.
Major Building Materials: Brick, curtain wall, IGU, electrochromic glazing, composite metal panel, oak reclaimed from the trees that felled on site, terrazzo, and stone tile.
Program: Atrium and social hub, student and faculty lounges, sales & marketing teaching labs, trading lab, offices for 5 departments and Ph.D. offices, Dean’s suite, student and career services, multipurpose auditorium, café, and terraced & flat flexible classrooms with teaming space.
Site Area: 690,000 Sqft (64,103 s.m.).
Floor Area: 176,000 Sqft (16,351 s.m.).
Building Height: 100’. (30.5 m.).
Number of Floors: 5.
Project Images
Photography Credit: Mark Herboth Photography, LLC.
Publication Drawings: Courtesy LMN Architects.
New Building at Clemson University, SC, United States of America
Project Credits
Architect:
LMN Architects
801 Second Avenue, Suite 501
Seattle, Washington 98104
Project Team:
Jennifer Chen
Linnea Cook, Assoc. AIA
Scott Crawford, Assoc. AIA
Michael Day
Mette Greenshields, AIA
Eun Jun, AIA
Kyle Kiser, AIA
Lauren Patnoe
Erik Perka, Assoc. AIA
David Schneider, AIA
George Shaw, FAIA
Robert Smith, AIA
Liem Tran
Ka Yan Tsang, Assoc. AIA
Rafael Vinoly, AIA
Masako Wada, IIDA
John Williamson, AIA
Rushyan Yen, AIA
Prime Architect:
LS3P Associates LTD
Contractor:
DPR Construction
Structural Engineer:
Thornton Tomasetti
MEP & Fire Protection:
RMF Engineering, Inc.
Landscape Architect:
Ayers Saint Gross
Civil Engineer:
Land Planning Associates, Inc.
Lighting Design:
HLB Lighting
Audio-visual:
BrightTree Studios
Transportation:
Stantec Consulting
Food Service:
Le Duff America, Inc.
Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, Clemson University, South Carolina images / information received 140222 from LMN Architects, Seattle, WA, USA
Phone: +1 864-656-3311
Location: 105 Sikes Hall, Clemson, SC 29634, South Carolina, United States of America
Architecture in South Carolina
South Carolina Architecture
South Carolina Buildings
Carolina Panthers Training Facility, Rock Hill
Architects: Populous
image courtesy of architects practice
Carolina Panthers Training Facility
International African American Museum, Charleston
Architects: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
image from architects practice
International African American Museum in Charleston
Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina
Design: Rafael Viñoly Architects
pictures © Rafael Viñoly Architects
Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina
Francis Marion University – Multi-Use Performing Arts Center
Design: Holzman Moss Architecture
Francis Marion University South Carolina
Charleston International Airport Terminal Redevelopment
Design: Fentress Architects with Liollio Architecture, Watson Tate Savory
Charleston International Airport Terminal Redevelopment, South Carolina
Architecture in North Carolina
North Carolina Architecture
Hunt Library, Raleigh
Design: Snøhetta
photo : Mark Herboth
Hunt Library, Raleigh
North Carolina Museum of Art Building
Thomas Phifer and Partners
picture © Scott Frances. Courtesy NCMA
North Carolina Museum of Art Building
Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh
Design: Brooks + Scarpa
Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh
AIA North Carolina Architecture Competition
New US Buildings
Comments / photos for the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, Clemson University, South Carolina design by LMN Architects Seattle page welcome
