Projects by Name

Design on the Strom Thurmond Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Columbia, South Carolina began during Breuer’s final years at his firm. His successor firm, MBA, completed the project after Breuer’s retirement in 1976. James C. Hemphill, Jr., a local architect served as the associated architect on the project. The project combined a sixteen-storey office tower raised on square pilotis with a low courthouse building set at a 90 degree angle. The two buildings were connected by an tunnel underground. Both featured Breuer’s signature modular concrete panels with projecting horizontal fins to shield the window below from the sun and dark gray granite cladding. Concrete coffered ceilings decorated the public spaces, while vertical hardwood paneling ornamented the interiors of the courtrooms. Early tenants included the U.S. Courts, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2003, the federal courts moved to a new location, and the. General Services Administration began to explore options for the reuse of the space.