The Continuum received a regional excellence award from U.S. WoodWorks, an organization providing support related to the creation of wood buildings throughout the U.S. The Continuum, a partnership between The Darla Moore Foundation, Florence-Darlington Technical College, and Francis Marion University, is located in Lake City, SC and was originally a Walmart built in 1969. Having been abandoned for some time, the design team, along with Britt, Peters & Associates, Inc., worked to convert this big box store into a state-of-the-art educational facility. We drew inspiration from the region’s architectural legacy by utilizing imagery of wood slat construction common throughout the area. A key feature was the design of a large-scale glulam structure and nail-laminated timber deck to penetrate the center of the facility. Once a dark building, this provided natural daylight to the interior classrooms. The massive wood structure and exposed bolt connections give the space both an industrial feel and the sense of rootedness in the natural world.
The Continuum Recognized by U.S. Woodworks
