University of South Carolina Lancaster, Founders Hall

When the Lancaster satellite campus of the University of South Carolina decided to build a new classroom building, the design team focused on three main objectives:
1. Design a building that reinforces the campus fabric, yet creates a signature destination for students on a commuter campus.
2. Create a variety of learning environments.
3. Maximize daylighting.
The site selected for the building exists on a main axis that runs through the heart of the small campus. Understanding the importance of taking advantage of this prime locale, the design team sought to use the building to create a public edge facing the campus. By creating a glass box on the front façade with a canopy and long bench, the building naturally invites students and visitors not just to enter, but to view it as a resting spot, gathering place and study destination. The student lounge within the building opens to a large courtyard and creates an indoor/outdoor living room that gives students a place to spend time between classes.
The brick used ties back to the existing buildings on campus, and the zinc used on the back of the building creates an iconic view from the highway to showcase a modern, progressive design.
The building’s orientation provides maximum daylighting, and the open interior spaces with large windows create transparency throughout the building and offer a connection to the outside.
Within the building, the variety of classrooms ranges from spaces accommodating a dozen students to a lecture hall of 75. Other areas include study nooks, lounges, an art studio and even an art gallery.

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