Merit Award Given to Town of Lexington’s Recently-Renovated Palmetto Collegiate Institute Building

COLUMBIA, SC – November 13, 2008 – The Columbia Section of the American Institute of Architects has conferred a Merit Award on the Town of Lexington’s recently-renovated Palmetto Collegiate Institute Building.  Originally built around 1881 as a school house and more recently occupied by the Roof family of Lexington, the venerable structure with wraparound porch now serves the public as a conference center and genealogical research desk.  The grounds, as designed by Landscape Architects Grimball Cotterill & Associates, are rapidly becoming a favorite location for weddings and receptions and were commended by the awards jury for their fit with the venerable edifice.  The cupola, as depicted in the earliest photos of the school, has been returned to the structure, but this time as a functioning light monitor bringing daylight into the inner lobby and hallway spaces.

The awards jury, headed by NC State’s Marvin Malecha, incoming national president of the American Institute of Architects, noted the number of roles which architects Calloway Johnson Moore & West (CJMW) played in bringing the project to fruition from the initial ideas put forth by Councilwoman Hazel Tyndall.  CJMW convened citizen groups to determine the use of the building as well as to contribute in multiple ways to the renovation effort.  The renovation construction work itself was headed by Weathers Contracting, while the Town of Lexington executed the landscaping with its own forces.  Now open to the public, the facility is managed by the Town of Lexington.

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