Garvin Design Group marked 19 years as a business on June 26, 2022. Scott Garvin established his firm in the historic Gervais Place building in 2003 following many successful years practicing architecture in Greenville and Columbia. Corporate partners Terry Buchmann, Mark Timbes, and David Sickinger joined Scott within the firm’s first few years. Nineteen years later, Garvin Design Group has grown to include 21 team members, amassed more than $1 billion worth of project experience, and garnered more than 60 awards.
Several high-profile projects enabled Garvin Design Group to establish an all-important foothold in the local business community. Some of the firm’s earliest projects – including adaptive reuse of the Olympia and Granby Mills, 701 Whaley, and Gervais Place – catalyzed its success and cemented its role in revitalizing Columbia’s urban core. Garvin Design Group quickly established expertise in design for adaptive reuse, higher education, and worship spaces. The firm’s portfolio has since expanded to include civic, commercial, retail, hospitality, and multifamily residential projects.
Major projects in Hilton Head, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Conway, and the Upstate have extended Garvin Design Group’s work beyond the Midlands. Recent projects in New Haven, Connecticut, Winston-Salem, Virginia Beach, and other cities have taken the firm even farther afield including the recently completed Halls Chophouse in Nashville and Club Wyndham/Margaritaville Vacation Club in Atlanta. The firm’s latest local projects include Smoked on Main Street, Gadsden Place Apartments in the Vista, and the adaptive reuse of Rosewood Baptist Church into apartments and retail. Higher Education projects continue to form a significant portion of the firm’s workload, and include athletics, academics, and student life spaces for institutions throughout the state.
Since its inception, Garvin Design Group has been committed not only to the needs of its clients and the wellbeing of its team, but to the health of its community. The firm is regularly represented in more than 30 public service organizations and makes significant charitable donations annually. In 2019, the American Institute of Architects – South Carolina chapter (AIA SC) honored Garvin Design Group’s contributions to the architectural profession and the community with its prestigious Firm Award. It was only the 12th time AIA SC had conferred the Firm Award in its then 26-year history.
“Our 19th year has been a whirlwind of great projects scattered all over the place,” said Scott Garvin, President of Garvin Design Group. “We are truly blessed with an amazing team and wonderful repeat clients that keep us busy.”