Architecture partners pledge $100,000 to Clemson's Lee Hall project

Published: May 24, 2010

CLEMSON — A $100,000 gift from partners in a Greenville architecture firm will support the expansion, renovation and restoration of Lee Hall, home to Clemson University’s design, build and visual arts disciplines.

Partners Ed Zeigler, David Dixon, Scott Powell, David Moore and Scott Simmons made the pledge to honor their firm, Craig Gaulden Davis of Greenville. Clemson will honor the donors by naming the Craig Gaulden Davis Review Alcove in Lee Hall.

The firm has a long connection to Clemson, from its founding in the late 1950s by 1951 classmates Kirk Craig and Earle Gaulden to the addition of partners Bill Davis (’61), Ed Zeigler (’77, ’79), David Dixon (’84, ’86), Scott Powell (’87) and David Moore (’88, ’90). Partner Scott Simmons is a graduate of Virginia Tech (’84).

Zeigler, who enrolled at Clemson University when Lee Hall was undergoing its first major expansion, said he feels honored to continue the firm’s tradition of significant support of architectural education in South Carolina.  

“When I arrived on campus in 1973, Lee Hall was under construction to make room for growing program needs. My partners and I are pleased to answer the call to expand and improve the facilities at Lee Hall to continue the tradition of developing outstanding design professionals,” Zeigler said.

Lee Hall is the home of graduate and undergraduate programs in architecture; art; city and regional planning; construction science and management; landscape architecture; real estate development; and a doctorate program in planning, design and the built environment. The construction project includes a new addition and renovations to the older facilities.

Clemson University broke ground in April on the Lee Hall project, which is funded by private support and federal money. The Lee Hall project is the only major building initiative on campus not halted by the recent economic downturn.

The expansion portion of the project is a 55,000-square-foot building at the south end of the existing structure. It will be a “zero-net-energy” building that uses very little energy or even gives back to the electric grid. The design calls for a simple interior that takes advantage of natural light
 
Renovation begins this summer, and new construction is scheduled to start in September, with the first classes taking place in spring 2012.

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