Chandler Center for Environmental Studies

Spartanburg, South Carolina

Firm

McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture

Client

Wofford College

Area

20,000 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$8,200,000

Completion Date

08/2020

Kris Decker & Firewater Photography; Hub City Bees; Derrick Simpson, McMillan Pazdan Smith

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Design Team
McMillan Pazdan Smith: Ron Smith (Principal in Charge); Cary Perkins (Project Manager); Mike Goll (Project Architect); Tina Jensen, Perry Hammond, Kirk Martin, Richard Howell (Project Designers); Missy Games (Interior Designer); Ed Reeves (Construction Administration). Britt, Peters & Associates (Structural Engineer); Crow & Bulman Engineering (Mechanical/Plumbing Engineer); Matrix Engineering (Electrical Engineer)

The Chandler Center for Environmental Studies is Wofford College’s new academic building and home to the school’s Department of Environmental Studies. The building hosts laboratory space, seminar rooms, classrooms, faculty offices, outdoor patio, garden space, and greenhouse. Sustainability features include rainwater capture, a partial green roof, extensive use of daylighting, and rooftop solar panels. The building uses pre-fabricated mass timber beams and panels for the structural design, reducing the structure’s carbon footprint and shortening construction time. The project was a successful collaboration between the college and architect; faculty and administrators engaged throughout the design process. A major goal of the project was creating a building that would function as a teaching tool. Toward this end, Chandler features exposed, color-coded utility lines to teach students how the building’s mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems function, and dashboard monitors were installed to show the building’s energy and water consumption. Chandler is Three Green Globes certified, only the sixth new construction project in South Carolina to achieve this certification at the time the project was completed.