CLEMSON — Architectural Digest magazine has tapped Lee III, the new Thomas Phifer-designed expansion of Lee Hall, as “one of the best in new university architecture around the world.” Nine buildings were so named.

Lee III Image by Scott Frances/OTTO

Lee Hall is home to Clemson disciplines in architecture, art, city and regional planning, construction science and management and landscape architecture.

The publication called Lee III a “light-filled glass-and-steel edifice that plays counterpoint to the campus’s more traditional brick structures.” And “Soaring ceilings, broad windows, and oculi join forces here to create a luminous studio and instruction space.”

“Architecture matters,” said Kate Schwennsen, chair of Clemson’s School of Architecture. “This building is a building that teaches its students, faculty and visitors remarkable lessons about the power and beauty of architecture. It is a wonderful place to be, and supports a lively, collaborative, creative culture of high-performing individuals.”

Only two other buildings in the United States were chosen: the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania and the University Center at the New School in New York City.

The 56,000-square-foot Lee III expansion was dedicated in 2012. In keeping with Clemson’s focus on sustainability, Lee III is zero-energy ready and features a 30,000-square-foot roof garden, 53 external and internal skylights, 42 geothermal wells and natural ventilation technology. Whenever possible, construction materials were chosen for their proximity to Clemson and for their sustainable methods of manufacture.

Lee III has won several national awards, including an award for design achievement from the American Institute of Architects in 2013 and LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2011.

Clemson alumnus Thomas Phifer (’75, ‘77) and Partners of New York designed Lee III in collaboration with McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture of Greenville and Holder Construction of Atlanta.

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Clemson University School of Architecture

In addition to the undergraduate and graduate degree programs on the main campus, the School of Architecture has programs in Charleston; Barcelona, Spain; and Genoa, Italy. Learn more at clemson.edu/architecture.