Fluid Campus: Charleston

The Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston (CAC.C) is a community service-oriented program structured to bridge academia and practice by teaching in a hybrid environment. 

The CAC.C provides a unique urban educational experience for Clemson School of Architecture students. The CAC.C is dedicated to bridging academia and practice by teaching in a hybrid environment - a cross between academic and professional modes of work - with a faculty comprised of practicing architects.  Students are offered opportunities for internships (professional experience, academic credit, AXP credit, tuition offsets and compensation) with local architects, landscape architects, urban designers, planning agencies, constructors and nonprofits.

Studios are structured in two tracks, Community Build and Studio U.  The former is a design-build studio, and the latter is a building/community/urban architecture studio. Both service-learning studios engage directly with community, governmental and private clients that require students to manage practical expectations, issues and demands of a professional practice while gaining significant design experience. Committed to service-learning, students work on community-based issues and projects and are encouraged to work collaboratively. Over 1,000 students have engaged in community-based education in Charleston since 1988.

Students are encouraged to live on the Charleston peninsula to allow them to experience the richness of Charleston's urban life, historic architectural fabric and one of the great "foodie" cities in America.

The collaborative Clemson University – College of Charleston Master of Science in Historic Preservation offers a two-year course of study that equips students with the knowledge and technical expertise essential for careers in the conservation and management of historic buildings, sites, objects, and landscapes. Utilizing Charleston and the Lowcountry as its principle laboratory, the MSHP program emphasizes community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and research that contributes new knowledge to the development of sustainable preservation strategies, placing students at the intersection of materials science and architectural forensics.

For decades, Clemson Architecture students have been involved in various community-oriented design-build and service-learning projects. Through community engagement and appropriate design solutions, Architecture + CommunityBUILD (A+CB) students learn how architecture can be a catalyst for positive change. 

This program is designed for M.Arch. and M.S. Arch. students who wish to further their understanding and application of a community centric architecture + process, design + building at full scale, sustainable programming + entrepreneurship, and post project documentation + sustained community impact. True to the University’s mission, the program embodies the spirit of service-learning and student engagement while celebrating family and community living, sustainable environments, leadership and entrepreneurism, and general education.

The A+CB program involves required architectural design studios and required courses that address specific projects and research questions associated with community design, sustainable practices, and full-scale design and building. The certificate requires 18 credit hours of design studios and courses at the Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston (CACC) that can be used to partially fulfill the requirements for the M.Arch. and M.S. Arch. The earned certificate will be acknowledged on the recipient's academic transcript.

Admission to the Architecture + CommunityBUILD certificate program will be granted through a competitive application process based on portfolio, GPA, and personal interview. Admission will also require application to and acceptance of placement for off-campus study in Charleston in semesters 4 and 5 (Spring and Fall).

The courses required to fulfill certificate requirements are the following:

SEMESTER 4 (SPRING) in CHARLESTON:

• ARCH 8520 / A+CB Studio with Prof. David Pastre (6 credits) in CHARLESTON at the CAC.C
• ARCH 8320 Community 1:1 (3 credits) with Prof. with Prof. David Pastre (3 credits) in CHARLESTON at the CAC.C

SEMESTER 5 (FALL) IN CHARLESTON:

• ARCH 8570 / A+CB Studio with Prof. David Pastre (6 credits) in CHARLESTON at the CAC.C
• ARCH 6770 Introduction to Craft (ITC) with Prof. David Pastre (3 credits) in CHARLESTON at the CAC.C

Note that these courses will be open to those not enrolled in the certificate program, although space may be limited.

Follow along with the design and build process and see past projects on the Architecture + Community Build Blog.

Students are encouraged to live on the peninsula, within walking or biking distance of the CDC.C, so that they can experience the city and its architecture to its fullest. Students can utilize the Off Campus Housing resources here, https://www.clemsonoffcampus.com/ or other apartment websites. Finding housing in Charleston requires planning to negotiate your Clemson apartment lease with the timing of your housing in Charleston.

Please contact Amanda Tucker at astucke@clemson.edu to learn more about options and for any questions.

Amalia Leifeste
Director, Historic Preservation
Email: aleifes@clemson.edu

Bradford Watson
Director of the Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston
Email: bawatso@clemson.edu

David Pastre
Director of the Clemson Design Center in Charleston
Interim Director, Resilient Urban Design
Email: pastre@clemson.edu 

Amanda Tucker
Student Services Program Coordinator
Email: astucke@clemson.edu

Mimi Rose
Administrative Coordinator
Email: miriamr@clemson.edu

Address
701 East Bay St., Suite 202
Charleston SC, 29403
Phone: 843-723-1747