Design Arts

2007 will be a landmark year for design, planning and historic preservation in South Carolina. The SC Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA/SC), the SC Chapter of the American Planning Association (SCAPA), the South Carolina Design Arts Partnership (SCDAP) and the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation (PTHP) have teamed up to provide design education and assistance to South Carolina cities and towns through the Celebrating South Carolina Community Design program, an AIA150 initiative.

In November 2006, six Mayors from diverse communities around the state will kickoff the yearlong initiative by attending the SC Mayor's Institute for Community Design, an annual program sponsored by the South Carolina Design Arts Partnership and modeled after the national Mayor's Institute for City Design. During this three day event, Mayors and design professionals will exchange ideas and information, ultimately collaborating to conceptualize designs for six special projects.

Beginning in January 2007, AIA/SC, SCAPA, SCDAP, and PTHP team members will host “mini-charrettes” in each Mayor's Institute town to engage citizens to become involved in the future of their built environment. Through a series of public input sessions with diverse stakeholders, asset identification exercises, and physical site studies, the team will gain knowledge of each community's unique character and come to understand the town's available resources and limitations in order to create a community design vision that illustrates a path for a healthy, safe, beautiful, and sustainable future.

On April 24-25, 2007, designers, citizens, and elected officials from all walks of life will gather at Clemson University 's Madren Center to celebrate the power of design at the South Carolina Community Design Summit. Scheduled Speakers include David Downey (AIA's Center for Communities by Design), Bryan Bell (Design Corps) and more. The Summit will focus on how design, planning, and preservation can be used as tools to address South Carolina 's social, economic, and environmental challenges. A key component of the event will be the presentation of community design visions from each charrette as models for what South Carolina communities can achieve.

Participating towns include Johnsonville (Florence Co.), Greer (Greenville Co.), Summerton (Clarendon Co.), Clearwater (Aiken Co.), Chesterfield (Chesterfield Co.), and Glendale (Spartanburg Co.). Each community has design, planning, and preservation issues that are representative of the challenges and opportunities faced by cities and towns across the state.

• Celebrating South Carolina Community Design Essay Contest (PDF) - Deadline Extended to July 1, 2007