COLUMBIA, S.C.
The University of South Carolina wants to create one set of standards to govern all new construction so buildings will have a similar look and feel to them.
“Look at the Horseshoe; that is our palette,” William Hubbard, chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee, said of the program.
The university’s original site built 200 years ago was quite small by comparison with today’s sprawling campus. But it was contained within the buildings that ring the historic Horseshoe. As the university expanded after World War II, it began moving into surrounding neighborhoods and one building bore little resemblance to those around it.
Hubbard’s committee is developing the guidelines that would establish an architectural and landscaping style that would be used campuswide.
“We just have one chance to get it right,” Hubbard said. “Once the buildings go up, it’s very hard to change them.”
Hubbard said the goal is not to make every building look exactly the same, but to look similar enough to be recognized as USC buildings.
