Title: Fort Mill Welcome Center
Location of Proejct: Interstate 77, York County, South Carolina
Project Completion Date: 2/27/2017
Firm Name: Liollio Architecture

Short Description: Conceptualized as the front porch of the state and infused with references to local culture; this state welcome center invites visitors to sit and stay a while with porch swings, comfortable seating, and a bright airy lobby. The solid volumes surrounding the lobby are strategically carved to welcome visitors by responding to the site circulation of cars and trucks. The variegated colors of clay soil expressed in the Catawba Indian tribe pottery inspired the visual striations of color on the brick mass walls. The lobby roof sweeps up to welcome visitors entering the site while collecting northern daylight.

Architect's Statement: A state welcome center is a surprisingly underestimated trading post, where friendly and hospitable staff warmly greet road-weary travelers. People still crave human interaction, even for booking tours and hotels, and the welcome centers are a driver for the tourism economy. It’s about tourism, not toilets (although the client requested the best public toilets in the state). This client’s vision was to embrace the identity of hospitality and create an experience that would invite visitors to sit and stay a while. The new state welcome center serves as the front porch of the state for visitors entering from a nearby metropolitan center or a long multi-state journey.

The design needed to respond to the specific flow of traffic on site, guiding people through the lobby during the day, while providing a visible point of entry after hours. An iterative process generated a plan that is directly influenced by the entry points on the site – including circulation of cars and trucks – and the flow of visitors.

An inwardly-focused experience provides respite from the mind-numbing interstate travel. On the road, near and distant scenery is blurred by the speed of travel. When you stop, things can slow down, creating opportunity for reflection. The support-program bars nestle the lobby to create a chamber-like space, rather than a pavilion surrounded by car bumpers and pavement.

The solid volumes surrounding the lobby are strategically broken to welcome visitors, and the shape of these volumes directly responds to the site circulation of cars and trucks. The lobby space is fluid, with small informal seat groupings and mobile information kiosks that create a more approachable direct connection between staff and travelers.

Another defining characteristic of the welcome center is its inherent serial nature. One of nine such entry points to the state, each location is about the entire state – not just a local region. However, it’s a critical opportunity to connect the physical experience and architectural expression to the specific place.

The Catawba Indian tribes are known for exquisite pottery, which is neither decorated nor adorned in color or pattern. It is shaped directly from the local soil, and the variegated colors of the clay soils drive the visual patterns and textures of the ceramics. Clay masonry brick is an inherently local product, manufactured within the state, and carrying a similar raw connection to the earth. Three colors of brick were used to create striations of color on the mass walls; detailed construction drawings gave the master mason a brick-by-brick pattern to follow.

Wood – specifically, southern yellow pine – is a key part of the state economy. Glued-laminated trusses and wood decking span the grand lobby. Steel compression posts marry to the wood beams to create a lighter joist, inspired by the history of iron work in the region.

The lobby roof sweeps up to welcome visitors entering the site and collects northern daylight. As the roof extends over the welcome center’s literal front porch, it provides a gathering space for picnics, events, fresh air, and a relaxing swing.