McNair Center

McNair Center
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC

Service-Lines: Furniture and Audiovisual/Technology

Products Used: Steelcase, Inc., Global Total Office and Safco Products

The McNair Center at the University of South Carolina serves to transform the state and region into a national aerospace hub. The center is headquartered in 15,000 SF of high bay space in the SCRA Columbia Innovation Center.  

Case Study PDF

Project Scope

Design: Housed in an industrial building, design had to mesh with the building aesthetic, the university standards, and the foundation’s vision. With the guidance of McNair, we planned individual offices to be customized to fit each occupant and collaborative spaces for students to conduct both group and one-on-one study. Our AV team integrated technology to allow the board room to support media sharing between all attendants and to have full automated control of lighting and technology.

Schedule: The customer needed three design layout options at different price points for review. Thanks to real-time design and revision capabilities, project completion took only four weeks.

Budget: McWaters was able to work within the grant funded budget to provide the best value solutions. 

SOLUTION

McWaters, in partnership with the USC and McNair Center staff and local architectural firm Garvin Design Group, worked to select furniture solutions to create a clean, innovative space that welcomes and supports staff and students. The furniture needed to be efficient, fresh, and inclusive of the latest technology.  Based on the need for a modern and technology friendly space, Steelcase Frameone became the basis of design for the work areas. Other Steelcase products included Cobi task chairs, Currency casegoods, Leap task chairs, i2i collaborative seating and Jenny lounge seating. 

The McWaters design team utilized computer-aided software to create three layout options that were presented during customer meetings. This approach made it possible to “walk” USC through all the options and make real time changes. Not only did our software support USC’s vision, it helped them visualize their space, take ownership of the design and make quick decisions. Our AV team's capabilities to help guide the clients through the technology integration was critical to the success of the project.

CREDITS

McWaters Account Manager: Brittany Burnett

McWaters Designer: Whitney McMakin

McWaters Audiovisual & Technology team: Mel Mays and Ned Little

Architect/Partner: Garvin Design Group