Structural Science Building
National Register Listing
Street Address:
Clemson University, Clemson, SC (Pickens County)
Alternate Name:
Lee Hall; Lowry Hall
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817739024
Description and Narrative:
The Structural Science Building, completed in 1958 with later additions, is significant for its association with the growth and development of the Department of Architecture, later the College of Architecture, at Clemson College (after 1964 Clemson University) during the period 1958-1965; for its association with Harlan Ewart McClure, long Dean of the College of Architecture, a nationally-recognized leader in architecture education, a noted architect, and the design architect of the Structural Science Building; as an outstanding early example of Modern or International style architecture in South Carolina and also for its courtyard designed by noted landscape architect J. Edward Pinckney; and for its exceptional significance in the growth and development of the College of Architecture during its formative years and also through the critical role McClure and the college played in the desegregation or integration of Clemson College in 1963 by architecture student Harvey Gantt, the first African-American student to be admitted to a previously all-white college or university in South Carolina. The original 1958 Structural Science Building is a three-dimensional composition consisting of two courtyards and three building elements. The larger courtyard is framed by the Civil Engineering Wing to the north, the Mechanical Engineering Laboratories to the east, and the Architecture Wing to the south. The large courtyard opens into the smaller courtyard through a breezeway. The smaller courtyard is almost square and is enclosed by the Architecture Wing on all four sides. The design represented a dramatic change from earlier architecture at Clemson. In line with the Modernist tradition, it has no ornament of any kind, expresses its construction system directly, uses simple geometric forms in an asymmetrical composition, and uses floor-to-ceiling glass to dissolve the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces. Pinckney’s design for the Lee Hall Courtyard, completed in 1965, is a contributing element to the complex. Listed in the National Register April 5, 2010.
Period of Significance:
1957 – 1958;1963;1965
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Education;Architecture;Landscape Architecture
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
April 5 2010
