Spartanburg Community College, Downtown Campus, Evans Building
Certified: LEED Silver by the U.S. Green Building Council
Awarded:
- AIA South Carolina, Citation Award, 2015
- Palmetto Trust, Historic Preservation Honor Award, 2014
McMillan Pazdan Smith was engaged by Spartanburg Community College to evaluate existing conditions and provide a feasibility study for the potential conversion of the historic Evans Building (Downtown Campus) into a new classroom and administrative building. The academic center is a three-story structure of approximately 104,000 SF, originally constructed in 1921 as a High School, with additions in 1924 and 1928. The building was renovated in 1979 and converted into offices for multiple county agencies.
The scope of the study included a limited survey of the existing building with regards to the architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural elements, and identification of the impacts and modifications required for conversion. The project rebuilt most of the interior, with spatial subdivisions for classrooms, labs, offices, a bookstore, study areas, and conference rooms.
State-of-the-art classrooms and labs are suited to the larger scale, maximum flexibility, and technologies sought for today’s more open, group interactive learning environments. An auditorium and gymnasium that were still intact underwent complete refinish and seating upgrades for college and possible community use. The historic restoration led the repair or replication of many features, architectural elements, materials, and finishes. Although the exterior was still structurally sound, the existing replacement windows from a previous renovation lacked the original character and were therefore replaced with energy-efficient, custom-manufactured units.
In addition, our team provided a cost-benefit analysis for LEED certification that established a cost for certification along with analysis of initial and life cycle costs associated with each system or item. McMillan Pazdan Smith led the project from feasibility study through final design.