Charleston’s Flagship2 Sets Sail…Well Almost
technically you could say it is still docked but everyone is boarding (actually it’s under construction) and “preparing” for the maiden voyage.
Now that we have the cheesy nautical references out of our system, under construction is one of the newest designs of Brad Brown, an architect that heads up Brown-Architecture, in collaboration with Jacob Lindsey of Fabric UDO, the Flagship 2 (FS2). Located in a former television studio, or for you long time locals Ludens, and is soon to become office space designed for high tech companies here in Charleston. The intent of the original Flagship was to act as a business incubator space and is managed by the Charleston Digital Corridor. As these companies began to outgrow their fledgling status there was obviously a demand for larger digs. Of note here is that virtually all of these companies saw incredible growth during the current recession and credit that in part to the design of the current Flagship facility. The need for larger spaces, and the City of Charleston obviously not wanting these companies to move off of the penninsula, was the impetous for the creation of the FS2 concept. Brown stated, “From the beginning the Digital Corridor director, Ernest Andrade, let us know that the idea behind FS2 is one that is forward thinking and progressive, and the design of the new space needed to reflect that.” Unabashedly modern design in a City of Charleston facility…who would have thought?
Located almost at the corner of East Bay and Calhoun St. the hodge-podge building is rather non-descript and recedes into the background. The only sign that something is afoot are the new aluminum framed windows, located in both the existing and new openings. The current condition of the building(s), the result of mulitple “renovations” and additions, “Whoever built these renovations was obviously not following any codes, or common construction methods because not one of them makes any sense.” Brown added. This was a major challenge for the design team, to seam-together the multiple layers of a building created over time into one cohesive whole. Construction is almost complete and we are looking forward to the finished product. Stay tuned…
Project: Flagship2
Design Team: Brown-Architecture + Fabric UDO
Contractor: Clambank Construction
