Title: International Culinary Institute of Myrtle Beach
Location of Proejct: Myrtle Beach, SC
Project Completion Date: November 2016
Firm Name: Mozingo + Wallace Architects, LLC

Short Description: Horry Georgetown Technical College’s Grand Strand Campus desired a new facility to house its expanding Culinary Arts program, plus provide spaces for hosting community events to promote this program. The resulting building, located at the most visual street corner of the campus, was architecturally designed to establish a new identity for the Campus. Exterior massing and facades use a variety of materials, finishes and shapes. The 30,272 sq.ft. facility contains a central grand hall bordered by a restaurant with an open kitchen, four kitchen/bakery labs, demonstration kitchen/auditorium/tv studio and administration, and includes a greenhouse and outdoor barbeque kitchen/dining patio.

Architect's Statement: Horry Georgetown Technical College had an established satellite culinary program in place on its Grand Strand Campus, but it was crammed into a former Air Force Base’s Officer’s Club. The building program required additional space to accommodate an expanded program, as well as areas for public events, public dining, a demonstration kitchen/auditorium and what was termed a “wow factor” to establish a marketable identity for the culinary program, and act as a centerpiece to update the 1960’s style buildings of the current campus. The impetus for a new facility was driven by the high demand in the area for trained kitchen staff which resulted in most students leaving the program early for offered jobs before their two-year program was complete. The college wanted to retain students through graduation; thus, the college needed a building and a program that would be uplifting for the students and inspire them to stay through graduation.
The concept, among several considered by the architectural firm, provided a layout with a central primary circulation spine separating the practical teaching labs from the public and faculty areas. This linear aspect worked well on the site, aligning the central concourse with the outdoor walkways leading to the adjacent conference center toward the north and the main academic buildings to the south. This concourse runs through the length of the building, with the entrances defined at one end by a glazed conical conference area to the north, and the circular demonstration auditorium at the opposite end. This central concourse is bathed in natural light throughout the day from a multi-colored curtainwall and numerous skylights with inlaid L.E.D. lighting accents. Diverse three-dimensional colorful decorative elements define entrances to the various activities taking place to either side of the concourse.
The teaching laboratories, each equivalent to either a commercial kitchen or a full-service bakery, can be viewed from the public concourse though large windows. Guests visiting the facility can observe the educational learning process in action. These classrooms, while sleek and modern, are in purposeful contrast to the public areas, utilizing practical, easily cleaned and maintained finishes.
Designed to draw the public eye, the exterior of the building features an imaginative and inventive ensemble of contrasting metal panels, stucco and masonry surfaces, tinted in pure whites and soft beiges, blended into a purposeful presence on the college campus atop a simply landscaped lawn. The rounded clerestory cap over the north end’s conference room resembles a cocked chef’s hat, becoming an iconic element at night when illuminated from within. The circular demonstration auditorium anchors the south end. Between these stretches the admin wing, surfaced with angled metal panels mimicking the undulating sand dunes found on the nearby beaches. The panels form a backdrop to the free-standing “CULINARY” letters, emphasizing the educational function of the facility. The concourse’s polychromatic clerestory bridges over the panels, connecting the two rounded bookends. Immediately off the south end’s restaurant dining, is a public dining plaza, bounded at its rear by an open-air teaching kitchen, with a custom-built concrete barbeque. The open side of the plaza, used for public gatherings and al fresco dining, overlooks a groomed grass lawn intended for outdoor events. The lawn connects the new building to an existing conference center to the north. This space also provides for outdoor community events such as a farmer’s market.
This modern facility displays strong architectural shapes with a rhythmic articulation of massing, all set in soft whites, reminiscent of a chef’s pristine formal white attire. The interiors are a backdrop of the same white and off-white palette, with graphic, bold infusions of ceiling and wall forms accentuated in bold colors to establish artistic elements and draw attention toward the various sections within the building.
The Culinary school earned LEED Silver Certification through the use of high-efficiency HVAC and insulation systems, natural lighting, sustainable site provisions and indoor environmental quality.