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Architects Ray Huff and Mario Gooden
are inspired, not daunted, by the traditions of Charleston,
S.C. Local residents have long maintained that the Cooper
and Ashley Rivers form the great Atlantic Ocean. Yet by other
accounts, the vortex of contemporary architecture is at the
convergence of the Hudson and East Rivers (apologies to L.A.).
But geographical parameters are changing: Top commissions
are no longer the exclusive domain of big-city firms, and
architects Ray Huff and Mario Gooden, both South Carolina
natives, are finding the climate of this southeastern city
conducive to the way they want to practice.
When commissioned to design a new beach
house to replace a structure
destroyed by Hurricane Hugo, Huff and Gooden diverged from
the prevailing vacation-home typology. They created a house
with three main components: a latticed wooden screen or "scrim,"
a concrete cube containing the living areas, and a linear
bedroom wing. One enters from the ground floor and moves between
the screen and cube before stepping into the house proper.
The arrangement erases indoor/outdoor divisions, creating
comfortable spaces suited to the climate and setting. This
contemporary composition with in-between places abstractly
recalls traditional Charleston houses without stooping to
the level of pastiche. Sited on axis with World War II bunkers,
the house also echoes the stance and spatial arrangements
of those military structures. Structurally, the screen stands
on exposed grade-beam pads, which visually ground the latticed
wall, while the raised cube appears to float on exposed pilings.
This unusual condition minimizes damage from storm surges.
Yet unbuilt, the History
and Science Museum proposes
an electronic-age museum in the urban and architectural context
of Charleston. Designed in response to a request for proposals—calling
for an educational program on a 1.25-acre site—this museum
of history and science relies entirely on non-object-based
exhibits, presenting only virtual imagery. At the same time,
however, it was also envisioned as a real building (visitors
inhabit it physically, rather than merely click onto its digital
displays from home computers), prompting its designers to
investigate the architectural and experiential implications
of a space with exclusively electronic displays. Accordingly,
Huff + Gooden’s strategy, using spatial layering, tilting,
and "choreography," considers the building’s
exterior and interior landscapes—its urban, spatial,
and tectonic conditions—as well as its cultural setting.
The Degaussing Office
Building is a project that
proposes the reprogramming of a former maritime facility.
The new program includes offices, a bar and a roof garden,
all sitting on pilotis over Charleston Harbor. A stainless
steel brise-soleil and a metal roof deemphasize the bulk of
this building perched on a pier.
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