College of Charleston’s Albert Simons Center for the Arts Celebrates Grand Re-Opening

Our team was thrilled to celebrate the grand re-opening of the College of Charleston’s Albert Simons Center for the Arts. We were honored to present the College with a plaque reflecting its certification of Two Green Globes by the Green Building Initiative, in recognition of their commitment to sustainability. The Renovation and Expansion of the Simons Center, home of studio art, music, theatre, dance and more, had four leading goals: Modernizing Arts Education, Sustainability & Resiliency in the Urban Coastal Environment, Connecting History and the Future, and Showcasing the Arts. 

The revitalized School of the Arts building includes a new Black Box Theatre, new studios for sculpture, printmaking, drawing & painting, theatre design, costume shop, music classrooms, practice rooms, and a scene shop, in addition to active learning classrooms for Art History and Arts Management, faculty offices and spaces for student gathering. A new transparent Commons, that doubles as student gathering in the day and pre-function space in the evening, was added to welcome visitors in from the Green Way to experience the arts. 

President Hsu and Dean Jayme Host spoke at the opening, saying “this beautiful building bolsters our position as the artistic heartbeat of Charleston, as these spaces benefit our students as well as the community."  The reimagined Simons Center has ~100,000 SF of bright and colorful spaces that are inviting to students and visitors alike. The colors featured throughout the building are inspired by iconic architectural features found on campus along Green Way, College Way, and the Cistern Yard, such as the blue-green door of Towell Library and the rich coral color of Randolph Hall.

We would like to thank and congratulate College of Charleston and our entire AE team on the completion of this exciting and collaborative project! We can’t wait to attend all the exhibits and performances this fall! For more information on upcoming events, visit http://calendar.charleston.edu/simmons-center.

Liollio Team Members Attend AIA Conference on Architecture 2023 in San Francisco

Liollio’s Michelle Lanker and Mason Malsegna attended the 2023 National AIA Conference in San Francisco recently. The conference gathered industry leaders and professionals to discuss equity, resiliency, workflow efficiency, and knowledge sharing. Michelle and Mason attended various sessions regarding community-based design initiatives, mitigation of climate effects through design, fundamental shifts within the AEC industry, and better design through symbiotic teaming. The experience enabled Michelle and Mason to pursue specific interests; Michelle focusing on firm-wide quality assurance processes and Mason focusing on shaping the future of sustainable design within the AIA SC Cote Chapter. They also had a chance to explore the city, have fun, and take in San Francisco’s distinct architectural language and urban fabric. Liollio is thrilled to have these two to attend the 2023 National AIA Conference and represent our team!

For info on next year’s AIA Conference on Architecture, visit A’24 Washington DC

A More Resilient Charleston: Charleston City Paper Features Aaron Bowman​ Article

ONE Architecture + Urbanism, from Imaginethewall.org

Bowman: Sea level rise proposals deserve wider cultural input: A More Resilient Charleston
By Aaron Bowman

Like many coastal areas across the country, the city of Charleston continues to bear the brunt of an increasingly volatile and changing climate. Last year saw a record number of "sunny day" floods and this year marks the sixth consecutive year where tropical storms have formed before hurricane season has officially started. The City of Charleston is to be commended for its continued commitment to studying the effects of climate change and implementing projects to not only address current problems but also mitigate future impacts.

The Charleston Peninsula Study conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers represents the latest in a series of studies and offers a thorough analysis of a single issue that threatens the peninsula of Charleston: storm surge. The potential economic and cultural impact of a severe hazard event are well presented and the concept of a barrier to address this issue has been discussed previously.

However, the Peninsula Study's limitation to this one topic ignores the reality of additional documented hazards that represent a growing economic and environmental threat to our community. As noted in the report materials online, this proposal needs to be considered as part of a comprehensive strategy to address flooding, sea level rise and the impacts of storm events. However, this analysis does not address these other hazards or offer analysis of how this plan could support existing infrastructure projects and planning proposals.

The study's current focus offers two structural options for a barrier wall, both of which neglect the rich history of Charleston's relationship with water. While these responses offer an engineered response to the question of storm surge, this problem requires a more integrated design solution that addresses the specific context in which it is located. A combination of "rigid" infrastructure and "soft" landscape solutions could mitigate the impact to cultural and natural resources and offer amenities for residents.

Complex problems like climate change and the design of resilient cities are not linear in nature and cannot be treated as an equation to solve. These wicked problems involve multivariable, interconnected systems that include not only environmental and economic issues, but social impacts as well. Charleston's rich history of preservation may be best known for its emphasis on the protection of the built environment, but it is the people who live and work in those buildings that define our community. It is the people of our community who actively (and vocally) participate in a robust public discourse that informs stakeholders and civic leaders and collectively shapes the future of our city.

Projects such as The BIG U, a post-Hurricane Sandy project to create a storm surge barrier along a continuous 10-mile stretch of Lower Manhattan, offer a model for civic engagement and public participation. The design and development team met with neighborhoods throughout the study area to understand their concerns and then developed contextually appropriate design strategies to address those concerns and maintain or improve their relationship to the water.

The Charleston Peninsula Study represents an important step forward in the City of Charleston's efforts to address the climate hazards that are facing our community. As the study continues to develop, a comprehensive public engagement strategy and a broader understanding of economic, environmental and social impacts of this proposal will be necessary to truly judge its success. The architects of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Charleston and the AIA South Carolina Resilience Committee look forward to continuing the conversation and working collaboratively to design a more resilient Charleston.

Aaron Bowman is an architect at Liollio Architecture and the founding chair of AIA South Carolina's Resilience Committee.

Resilience by DESIGN: From the Blue Ridge to the Coast - Conference 9/21

Don't miss Resilience by DESIGN: From the Blue Ridge to the Coast - Friday, September 21, 2018. Register today: Click HERE! Interested in becoming a Resilience Partner? Contact Tracey Waltz.

AIA South Carolina is pleased to announce Resilience by DESIGN: from the Blue Ridge to the Coast, its second biennial conference on Resiliency, to be held in downtown Greenville at the Clemson One space. This year's theme will emphasize the importance of Resilient planning across South Carolina and beyond coastal communities. Conference sessions will focus on Resilient Design issues affecting all regions in the state, including climate change adaptation, wild fires, tornadoes and other wind hazards.

Keynote speaker Laura Lesniewski, a Principal at BNIM, will discuss her firm's approach to "creating beautiful, integrated, living environments that inspire change and enhance the human condition." The 2011 AIA Firm Award winner, BNIM is a Kansas City based interdisciplinary practice that is shaping the national and global agenda for progressive planning, responsible architecture and design excellence.

We hope you'll join us for a one day "mini-conference" where members of the design and construction industry from across the state and region will gather, learn, and discuss the vital role they play in both the design and recovery of more Resilient Buildings and Communities.