Studio A Helps SC Medical College Win Preservation Award

Charleston, SC, February 11, 2009 --(PR.com)-- This past spring, the 1802 Anderson House in downtown Charleston, once in complete disrepair, was transformed into much-needed office space for the Medical University of South Carolina’s College of Pharmacy. Last month, the Preservation Society of Charleston honored MUSC for its adaptive reuse of this historically significant structure by presenting the University with its Pro Merito Award.

The architect for the project was Whitney Powers, AIA, principal of Studio A, Inc., in Charleston.

Established in 1999, the Pro Merito Award is an off-shoot of the Society’s Carolopolis Award for historic preservation, which appears as a plaque on the receiving properties. The Pro Merito Award recognizes properties that have undergone a major restoration since they received a Carolopolis Award.

The Historic Charleston Foundation has described the 7300-square-foot house originally built by Daniel Cannon as one of the “...largest, most intact Federal period houses in the city with architectural details equaled only by those within the Nathaniel Russell House.”

The house was modified in 1838 when Southern industrialist William Gregg purchased it and introduced elements of the then-fashionable Greek Revival style.

So for the exterior, Powers did not want to reinforce the architectural significance of the building by focusing on any particular era of its evolution. “We realized that the building was significant, not for any single period or style, but for its composite nature,” she said.

She also had to balance the preservation of the historic house with the School of Pharmacy’s functional requirements.

After extensive analysis, Powers decided to remove ad hoc enclosures at the ground floor and the first floor piazza that were not “character-defining features,” she said. She also removed a rooftop balustrade at the piazza that also wasn’t historically significant and that caused water to seep in where the upright posts penetrated the roof. The Board of Architectural Review approved her decisions, which returned the piazza to its more historically accurate appearance.

The once handsome interior had undergone many alterations over the years and required all-new electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems as well as repairs and refinishes to every wall, floor and ceiling. Stylistically, “the original delicacy of the Adams-style details had been countered by the more robust Greek Revival alterations of the mid-19th Century,” Powers said.

Again, Powers chose to maintain these alterations “as evidence of the house’s evolution over time,” she said. “Then we specified new fittings and finishes that are historically appropriate for this remarkable interior.”

Powers praises the College of Pharmacy’s staff for readily embracing many accommodations that will prevent wear and tear on the historic finishes, including extensive use of task lighting and the arrangement of upper-level office areas.

A veteran of preservation/adaptive reuse projects in and around Charleston, Powers has received numerous design awards and has been featured in local, regional and national design magazines and journals. Earlier this year, her work with Raleigh, NC, architect Frank Harmon on The Circular Congregational Church’s Sunday School addition and Lance Hall renovation received the Historic Charleston Foundation’s Robert N.S. and Patti Foos Whitelaw Founders Award. For more information on Whitney Powers and Studio A, visit www.studioa-architecture.com.

The Preservation Society of Charleston is the nation's oldest non-profit community and membership preservation organization. For more information, visit www.preservationsociety.org.

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