If you look around Columbia, you’re likely to come across a project by Garvin Design Group. The local architecture and interiors firm has collaborated with the community for 20 years, making its mark on Soda City (and bringing home more than 60 awards along the way).
To celebrate two decades of GDG this summer, we’re highlighting some of their most iconic and beloved spaces sprinkled throughout Cola.
701 Whaley | Constructed in 1903 as the company store for five nearby textile mills, this building was condemned before GDG restored it in 2006. Now, it’s one of Cola’s most popular event venues.
Smoked | GDG adapted three of Cola’s oldest buildings to design this trendy restaurant and microbrewery on Main Street, all while preserving the space’s distinctive historic features.
Smoked creates dishes with local ingredients that capture the flavors of the region.
Photo by Brian Dressler, courtesy of @garvindesigngroup
Williams-Brice Stadium Video Board | Gamecocks are more than familiar with the giant video board towering over the north end of USC’s football stadium — it’s currently the third largest in the SEC.
Palmetto Compress Warehouse | One of GDG’s projects recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, this iconic brick structure — built in 1918 and 1923 — is now a unique retail and apartment building spanning half a city block.
Rosewood Church | GDG transformed this 1970s church complex into refreshed residential, retail, and hospitality spaces. The firm won awards for preservation and community impact, recognizing how they maintained distinctive elements of the historic buildings (think: stained-glass windows and a vaulted ceiling).
GDG transformed this church into a complex for residential, retail, and hospitality tenants.
Photo by Kickstand Studio, courtesy of @garvindesigngroup
City Market | City Market contains three of the oldest surviving buildings in downtown Columbia, one of which houses City Grit. GDG restored these buildings to their original industrial forms while adapting them into spaces for mixed-use commercial and residential uses.
Hammond School Science & Innovation Center | Designed to foster hands-on learning for K-12 students, this award-winning building features a saltwater aquarium, elevated roof garden, and planetarium.
