College of Charleston
Hollywood, SC
Ayers/Saint/Gross prepared a master plan for the Dixie Plantation site for a proposed academic and public use facility for the College of Charleston. The 800-acre plantation, along Highway 162 near the town of Hollywood in Charleston County, South Carolina, is situated along the banks of the Stono River, characterized by a rich estuary with salt and brackish emergent marshes and forested wetland. In addition to the built structures of a residence, outbuildings and barns, the land consists of open fields, forests, several freshwater, brackish and saltwater ponds. This composition of ecological features provides an important breeding and wintering site for migratory birds, vital habitat for aquatic species, and a critical environment for maintaining water quality.
In designing a master plan for the land we developed three guiding principles:
1. To design with a light hand - To lay the lightest ecological footprint on the site. Every move enhances the existing historical traces, functions of ecological structures, and the beauty of the site.
2. To work within the existing environment - Fit into a distinct landscape structure with the least disturbance and greatest enhancement to the place and to the experience of both people and indigenous species.
3. To only develop appropriate uses for the site - Encourage programs that make best use of the resources of the site. Establish three-fold path system: existing roads and Live Oak alee, meandering connector path, new transect observation paths. Use building sites that are best located for educational and environmental purposes.
The master plan design allocated 200 acres of the site for development as a 27,000 to 52,000 square foot educational teaching facility. This development will occur away from the river, along the highway to tie into existing infrastructure, and to create the least disturbance on the site. For educational purposes, a single pedestrian path will be located within the ecologically rich areas of the landscape.
Completion: 2004
Size: 800 Acres
Cost: N/A
