Hoffler Place, a 7-story apartment building in the heart of Charleston, maximizes its 124,000 SF building footprint while adopting a neighborly approach to design. The form engages the street with residential-scale components designed to break down the building’s mass as it steps back from the street. An exterior palette of natural limestone, cast stone, brick, and fish scale metal panels adds visual interest and texture to the façade. A metal clad tower at the corner frames a double-height volume at the top floor enlivened and illuminated by the student activity inside. The overall design merges an urban building with its timeless architectural context, anchoring a prominent corner in a neighborhood that is rapidly redeveloping.

The interiors likewise reference the city’s historic architectural detailing. Features include high-end finishes with bold, student-friendly geometric patterns. A rooftop soaking pool, fitness spaces, study lounges, and built-in niches and gathering spaces provide student space outside of the residence areas. The amenity corridor recreates the experience of meandering alleyways; porcelain tile slabs lining the corridor resemble the color of wrought iron and the texture of plaster. Handmade wall tile installations create a sense of movement and mimic the growth of a native creeping fig, while a vaulted concrete and structural glass paver system provides filtered light from above, reminiscent of dappled light shining through a tree canopy on a leisurely garden walk.

A recurring art deco motif and subtle diamond pattern are used throughout the facility to pay homage to the site’s history as the former home of the Lincoln Theater, a historic African American movie theater.

 

Developers: 595 King Street Residential Partners LLC | Includes: Armada Hoffler, Spandrel Development Partners

RECOGNITIONS: IIDA Carolinas; AIA South Carolina – Merit Award for Interior Architecture