PROJECTS
Projects
Strom Thurmond Fitness and Wellness Center
It seems only fitting that the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center was named after the oldest and longest-serving U.S. senator in history. Senator Thurmond dedicated his life to serving others and to fitness. Built by the University of South Carolina, the fitness center is located at the intersection of Blossom and Assembly Streets in Columbia, the fourth most active intersection in South Carolina and not far from the state capitol.
The project began in the early '90's according to Jerry Brewer, Director of Student Life at USC. At that time the university began an assessment of the existing recreational facilities on campus. What they quickly realized was that there were no peer or aspirational facilities dedicated specifically to wellness and fitness. The study also revealed that the university's main athletic facility, the Blatt Building, which was created in the late '60's and early 70's was designed for shared recreational sports and activities. Research showed that prior to 1980 most facilities were designed for male dominated activities. Today, individual fitness for both genders is the focus.
Knowing that the facility would be a valuable tool in student recruitment, The University wanted an aesthetically pleasing building and one that offered both a fitness and a social component to students.
The next step was to set the project goals and to develop a team to facilitate the process. At that point, The Boudreaux Group, a Columbia based commercial architecture firm was hired. Led by architect Scott Garvin, a team of over 30 people which included Terry Buchmann, Randy Huth, Kim Bendillo, Chuck Hulstrand and other staff of The Boudreaux Group worked with consultants including David Body and his associates with Cannon Design of Los Angeles, CA, a fitness and pool consultant, along with Kevin Belka and Cliff Stringfield of Belka Engineering Associates of Columbia, David Jordan of The Schneider Company and the Fitness Center staff led by director Herbert Camp.
Once the team was selected, the assessment process continued. The team collected information about 52 different fitness centers in the US and visited two dozen of those sites. Next, they completed intensive case studies on ten of those facilities, looking at schematic drawings and cost figures.
Once the research was complete the design and construction process began in September of 2000. After an eight-year process, the building opened on March 1, 2003. Today, the center is dedicated to student access to fitness and wellness on a daily basis.
Berkley Place (Sea Turtle Entertainment)
Hughes Library
Details of H.L. Hunley Brought to Light
New lighting technology is used in the excavation process of historic Civil War submarine
On February 17, 1864, the H.L. Hunley was the first submarine in history to sink an enemy ship. That cold, bone chilling night, eight men, led by Lt. George Dixon, sank the USS Housatonic just outside the Charleston Harbor by ramming her spar torpedo into the hull of the ship. She then surfaced long enough for her crew to signal to their comrades on the shore of Sullivan's Island with a blue magnesium lantern that their mission was successful. But minutes after her historic achievement, the Hunley and all hands on board vanished into the sea without a trace.
In 1995, author and adventurer Clive Cussler found the Hunley resting on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean buried deep within the sand and silt just outside of Charleston Harbor. Finely on August 8, 2000 and after being lost at sea for 137 years, the Hunley was recovered from the ocean's floor. It was indeed a remarkable moment in history.
In preparation of the recovery process, the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, a state of the art facility located in North Charleston, was designed. When electrical engineer Rick Borden of Davis & Floyd in Charleston, SC needed assistance with designing the lighting system for the excavation tank which now houses the Hunley, he called The Schneider Company.
David Jordan, Specification Sales Director of The Schneider Company, met with senior archeologist Maria Jacobsen to explore the use of new lighting technologies for the excavation portion of the project. According to Jacobsen, there could be no ultraviolet rays or heat emission from the task lighting system which could damage the submarine, any artifacts or any human remains. Fiber optic lighting met both of these requirements. An added benefit was that fiber optic cables contain no electricity. Also, due to the fact that the submarine is partially submerged in water, the fiber optic cables have the advantage of being submersible.
The next challenge was to determine if the light intensity would be adequate. Lighting samples were ordered and mocked-up in a full-size replica of the submarine. Jacobsen, along with Dr. Robert Neland, Branch Head of Underwater Archaeology for the Naval Historical Center and project manager and Jordan experimented with the mock-up and agreed that fiber optic lighting was the design solution they had been seeking.
The final design solution includes two metal halide fiber optic illuminators that are mounted at one end of the 50' long tank where the submarine now rests. Several fiber optic cables of varying diameters were also attached to each illuminator. Task light emits from the ends of the flexible cables.
Today, the excavation and analysis of the Hunley continues to provide many clues for archaeologists, conservators, anthropologists and historians as they seek to understand the events that led to the loss of the Hunley and her crew and events that also led to the dawn of the modern era in submarine technology. The Schneider Company is proud to be part of the "single most important underwater archeological expedition of the century."
Perhaps Michael McCarthy of the Western Australian Museum's Department of Maritime Archaeology stated it best in an interview in American Archaeology Magazine's Summer 2001 issue. He wrote, "The Hunley is raising the bar for underwater archaeology and conservation." He goes on to say, "Not only is she viewed as a significant object of history, but also a significant research and science project. This is perhaps the find of the century."
