Dezeen Magazine

Greenville County Administration Building by Foster and Partners

Foster + Partners tops South Carolina county building with "crisp edges"

UK architecture studio Foster + Partners has completed an administration building in South Carolina with a winged roof that covers a skybridge

Located in Greenville, the Greenville County Administration Building contains offices and is part of a wider redevelopment of the county's central square by RocaPoint Partners.

Two glass volumes with overhang
British studio Foster + Partners has completed an administrative building in South Carolina

The building consists of two separate glass volumes conjoined by a winged roof that covers a central walkway and an elevated skybridge connecting the third floor.

"The building will make a significant contribution to Greenville County, acting as a place for local people to meet in serene natural surroundings," said Foster + Partners head of studio Nigel Dancey.

a government building by foster and partners in south carolina
It consists of two glass volumes topped with a winged roof

"The overhanging roof converges to create a shaded plaza, with crisp edges that accentuate the building's unique form."

At its centre, the roof protrudes in a pyramidal canopy, which is made of a series of translucent panels framed with brown metal.

a building with an angular, pointed roof
The roof covers a walkway and skybridge

Colourful, integrated lighting illuminates the central space at night.

A glass curtain wall envelopes each volume. The team states the glass was used to symbolically erase the boundary between the public and the government.

the point of a roof by foster and partners
The overhanging roof is marked by sharp edges

Inside, offices and "vast" lobby spaces were distributed across the building's four storeys.

Warm-coloured metal was used for accents on the facade, which are a nod to the Greenville County landscape and the brick masonry historically used in the area.

This same warm tone is found in the Corten steel of a veterans memorial that fans out just in front of the building.

The building's interior lobby is a double-height space with lofted walkways that surround glass-enclosed offices. Supporting columns, wrapped in a metallic finish, create distinct visual and physical markers in the space.

the white interior of building

The floors, walls and ceiling were finished in a bright white, contrasted by the dark framing of the glass curtain wall and black furniture in the lobby.

The building faces a public space which will eventually be populated with cafes, restaurants and a fountain, according to the team.

triangular glass cut outs
Triangular glass panels cover the walkway

At its back, a long staircase runs down a slope to meet the surrounding sidewalk.

It will act as a link between surrounding green spaces in Greenville's central square, which includes the linear Falls Park.

Foster + Partners recently revealed designs for a mixed-use development with fluted colonnades for Miami Beach and topped out the new JPMorgan headquarters in New York City.

The photography is by Brandon Stengel

More images

the facade of a building with glass and stone pavilion in front
a curving pavilion
a pointing, angular roof
A government building with pointy roof