JUSTICE & GVMT
JUSTICE & GVMT
Live/Work/Play
JUSTICE & GVMT
The riverfront area of downtown Charleston was foundational in the formation of the city, first in the establishment of a marketplace fueled by river commerce and continuing through the development of a more refined central business district. Twentieth-century development transformed the riverfront as the city’s most successful park, used for community-wide festivals and concerts. Silling, a legacy Charleston studio, was selected to design performance-oriented improvements, and the solution is inspired by the rich history and relationship of the city to the river.
Once traveled by dozens of Sternwheel vessels, the event performance shell and stage configuration are directly abstracted from the form of the paddlewheel. The tensile structure canopy provides much-needed shade for the original terraced concrete seating area, with the ability to retract for an unobstructed view of the night sky and various firework displays. The revived riverfront park has recaptured its identity as the “front porch” of the city.
