Stormwater Studios

Columbia, South Carolina

Stormwater Studios is a multi-phase project that will serve as a permanent complex of visual arts studios and gallery spaces. The Stormwater Studios project is located on a 1.5-acre site adjacent to several established artisan businesses including a custom lamp/furniture design studio and a handblown glass workshop/store. The site is also bounded on the north side by Kinsler Creek and an undeveloped riverfront greenway to the west. Kinsler Creek flows from downtown Columbia as an underground watershed that daylights through two culverts at the northeast corner of the property and continues flowing west into Congaree River. A new walk path (Kinsler Creek Greenway) connects the building with the surrounding site, providing spaces for outdoor leisure, education, artist work areas, and future sculpture gardens. This greenway path also offers rare downtown access to the natural environment that has been previously unknown and inaccessible to the public. The masterplan for Stormwater Studios includes three buildings surrounding an interior courtyard space/parking area.

This first 5,500 Sf building (Phase I) is designed utilizing a pre-engineered steel frame with exterior metal panels to minimize costs and reflect the context of surrounding industrial buildings. The building offers eleven 300 SF private rentable studios that share a common gallery space with a kitchenette and restrooms. Each of the studios is equipped with individual air control and a large utility sink. Front facing studios each have a garage door for direct access to outdoor covered work space, while the rear studios maximize wall space with small windows. Skylights are incorporated in the rear studios and gallery spaces to maximize ambient light.

With its location near the Congaree River, Stormwater Studios is designed to bring attention to natural resources of the unspoiled Congaree River. The project is also at the gateway of the proposed Riverfront Park plan, adopted by the City of Columbia and the University of South Carolina.

PROJECT COMPLETION

2018

PHOTOGRAPHY

GMatson Photo

DRAWINGS

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