Building on Upper King a nod to city, yet novel
As the new owners of 487 King St. plotted what to do with their small, long-neglected property between Ann and Mary streets, they got some bad news.
The building's late 19th-century brick storefront, which had a certain charm even if its window openings revealed a tree growing up in the middle of the lot, was in pretty bad shape.
Architect Whitney Powers of Studio A says the original idea was to preserve that facade and build something contemporary just behind it.
"There was a lot of interest in seeing that happen," she says, but it didn't. "We were going to use that facade, but it was so structurally unsound it became a hazard. We thought it was going to fall into the street."
Photo Gallery
487 King Street
The design of the new structure at 487 King St. is meant to fit into the historic shopping street while not feeling 'embarrassed' about being a new building, its architect says. These shots show the design details of the combination store, office and residence.
Instead, Powers ended up designing one of the most novel buildings on Upper King — one bound to trigger arguments about whether it fits into the city.
Of course, Powers believes it does.
"Our intention was to put a new building on King Street that was part of the fabric of the overall city with its texture and materials but not ashamed or embarrassed about being new," she says. "It's not meant to be an alien. It was meant to be a storefront on King — not a transplant from some other place inserting itself."
Even though 487 King is a narrow lot (18 feet wide in the front, just 11 feet wide in back), the building has a side courtyard, an indention framed partly by a wall of glass blocks that allows more light into the building's interior.
The facade is constructed of brick and stucco, a pretty traditional look, but it also features a metal mesh designed to hold signs for whatever office or business locates there — and a metal canopy that shades the third-floor deck belonging to the residence there.
The most contemporary aspect of its look might be the large single window at the second-floor level, though a closer inspection of King Street shows this has several precedents up and down the street.
While the building has only about 4,000 square feet, it's designed to include a residence on the upper two floors, commercial space on the first and a small office space on the second.
While the retail space seems like many others on King, the residence offers great views — indoor and outdoor —of King and St. Philip streets.
Its three-story height matches up with the two buildings to the north, and Powers notes its one-story-tall southern neighbor could be redeveloped and enlarged one day.
Surely many people will look at 487 King and find it jarring compared to the nearby buildings, which are broken into the more historic, traditional rhythm of three windows per floor on the upper floors. But others are sure to enjoy a building with a newer look — even if that newer look isn't as new as some might think.
Since its construction was completed, I've heard no complaints or slights about it, possibly because of its relatively small size. "Because of its scale — it's pretty diminutive — it doesn't aggressively present itself," Powers says.
The most interesting test of its quality, as with all buildings, will be whether people continue to value and preserve it once its novelty wears off. Powers says that's what it was designed for.
"There was really an interest in building something that was going to be on King Street for as long as anything was going to be on King Street," she says.
Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771, by fax at 937-5579, by e-mail at rbehre@post andcourier.com or by mail at 134 Columbus St., Charleston, SC 29403.
E-mail this story
Printer-friendly version
Comments
watchdog (anonymous) says...
I love great modern architecture, but something is missing on this one. This could have been a gem.
June 16, 2008 at 6:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
meesta_challie (anonymous) says...
Good job here.
New construction that's trying to fit in.
They could have gone all cutesy, but they didn't.
June 16, 2008 at 8:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mkris (anonymous) says...
Oh please, this building is awful. In the name of modernity the standard line is getting boring. Not every piece of modern architecture is good: look at the Federal Building on Marion Sq. At the time it was the "best". It hasn't stood the test of time. This one will not either. It's just the downtown Charleston insecurities coming through, trying to be as "good" as NYC or Chicago. Different climates and cultures require architects to address the issues differently. This is the same ol' in a copyist's manner.
June 16, 2008 at 9:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OverHere (anonymous) says...
Meh...
June 16, 2008 at 9:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whycantitbebetterhere (anonymous) says...
ColdBeer? When is the last time you were downtown? Like 1975? old geezer....
June 16, 2008 at 9:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rebel_Yell (anonymous) says...
Cold Beer is for the burbs -- just leave him isolated and alone so he can complain on this forum.
June 16, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Reader (anonymous) says...
ColdBeer definitely needs to come back downtown. Upper King St. is the trendiest place on the peninsula with lots of high dollar restaurants, bars, and unique stores. I have not heard of any serious crime in a few years, and my office is on upper King St.
As to the building, I think it is okay. Not great. Not bad.
June 16, 2008 at 10:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Reader (anonymous) says...
Upper King St. is the area from Calhoun St. (Marion Square) northwards to Line St. (where the street more-or-less goes back into a residential area).
June 16, 2008 at 10:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Reader (anonymous) says...
King St. starts as South of Broad (Battery to Broad St.). Then it becomes lower King St. (Broad St. to Calhoun St.). Then it becomes upper King St. (Calhoun to Line St.). Then, it comes a no-name section of mixed commercial and residential use from Line St. to the point where Morrison Drive crosses over.
Then, there is the section you are talking about, I think. It is all the rest above that up to Rivers Ave. That is the area where the strip clubs, lumber yards, and abandoned buildings are. I think that that is generally known as King St. Extension (even though I think it has always existed as part of King St.).
June 16, 2008 at 12:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CaptPete (anonymous) says...
Ugly is all I can say. They could have easily used old reclaimed brick. This was a cheap way to do it. The review board should have stepped in.
June 16, 2008 at 1:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
strongjohn10856 (anonymous) says...
The intent was good and the scale and massing make overall sense. However, I think the single window on the 2nd floor was a poor choice. While there may be other examples in the area, at this location - with the two buildings to the right having three window bays, I think the better choice would have been at least two window openings. Nonetheless this new building is good effort to creatively handle a challenging site. It's clean lines help set it apart and are much better than something that would have mimicked the details of its neighbors.
June 16, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Cid95 (anonymous) says...
It's pretty cool. At least they got creative and didn't mimic "the usual" Charleston design.
June 16, 2008 at 9:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Postandcourier.com is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Postandcourier.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not postandcourier.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by signing up!
Full terms and conditions can be read here.