The University of South Carolina’s new Health and Sciences Campus and School of Medicine will sit on 16-20 acres at the northeast section of the Bull Street District near the intersection of Colonial Drive and Harden Street, in Columbia. The campus includes an academic and research buildings, roads, parking, green space and a central utility plant. This project will design and construct a 130,000-square-foot medical education building, a 162,000-square-foot, multi-disciplinary health sciences research building, and associated site and infrastructure improvements to accommodate the relocation of the University of South Carolina’s School of Medicine in Columbia. There will be additional space for interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary professionals from the main campus. Once complete, it will house one of the most technically advanced medical schools in the country.
This campus design balances the needs of all users and a wide variety of uses in a cohesive way, all with an eye to sustainability. Site design focused on fitting this new campus into the urban environment emphasizing five core principles: healing and wellness, accessibility and inclusivity, sustainable design, collaborative and social spaces, and integration of education and nature. The campus contains active areas for students, a formal auto court, rainwater gardens, outdoor dining spaces, and library garden among a lush, welcoming site. The campus quad is bisected with a fire lane, so the design team turned this into a gathering space with planned areas for food trucks and ample seating. An elegant Gift of Body memorial garden with columbarium wall honors the university’s mission of medical education by recognizing the gifts donors give, while students will find a variety of seating options for individual or group study.
The structural design included several key elements necessary to support the specific program. The concrete research building includes a vivarium and high-sensitivity labs, requiring strict sound and vibration control, while the structural elements were designed to support column-free learning spaces.
The project is targeting LEED Gold, enhanced by elements like outdoor study rooms that feature solar power, parking lot bioretention, pervious paving in the arrival court and library garden, and native plants throughout.
Campus architectural renderings courtesy of project architect, Boudreaux.