COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SOLAR PAVILION

Situated on the west side of campus near Rivers Green, the forward-looking Solar Pavilion celebrates the 250th anniversary of the College of Charleston and is part of a larger sustainability effort for the College. The solar pavilion design concept emulates the form and function of a cypress tree. The cypress tree’s single trunk grows to an energy generating canopy that cantilevers from the trunk. The pavilion is similar, in that all the parts are expressive structurally, it is plain to the observer, how this pavilion was built. A central armature, then cantilevered elements. Much like a tree. The College of Charleston performed archaeological work prior to construction, discovering the hearth of an old kitchen house dated to the mid nineteenth century. Portions of the hearth remain on the site. During the excavation of the hearth the College of Charleston Archaeology team discovered an enslaved African-American’s badge from 1853. The Hearth and enslaved African-American’s badge are important steps in the College of Charleston’s Discovering Our Past initiative to tell a fuller story of the university’s long and complex history.

Structural Engineer, John Moore (4SE).