page_title: Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle, and Wolff
section_title: Government buildings
hierarchical_section_title: Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle, and Wolff / Style / Government buildings
caption_attribution_description: English: Columbia SC Post Office, LBC&amp;W
context_page_description: Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle, and Wolff, an architecture firm based in Columbia, South Carolina, was the region's most prominent firm from 1948 until 1975. While the roots of the firm stretch back to 1938, LBC&W was officially incorporated in 1948 as William G. Lyles, Thomas J. Bissett, William A. Carlisle, and Louis M. Wolff. LBC&W's streamlined operational structure, atypically high employment numbers, and varied portfolio contributed to the success of the firm. The firm had satellite offices in Richmond, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; Spartanburg, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Rockville, Maryland. At its height, over 350 architects, engineers, and other staff members were employed by LBC&W. The firm completed over 7,000 projects in its 30-year span, many of which were on the cutting edge of Modern architecture. From Clemson University's library that reflects the influence of Edward Durell Stone's Embassy at New Delhi to the Bankers Trust Tower in downtown Columbia that mimics the Seagram Building by Mies van der Rohe, LBC&W incorporated the methodologies and designs of the great architects of the twentieth century.
context_section_description: The firm's practice of modern planning corresponded with the goals of local governments that wanted to improve city environments. LBC&Ws use of “Total Design” in the construction of South Carolina’s State Capitol Complex, for example, highlighted how the firm stressed attention to the total environment of a project and attempted to improve the neighborhood. Similar to the way LBC&W approached Cornell Arms, this was another response to the conversation on the complexities of modern living. The plan for the State Capitol Complex embodied the comprehensive approach of LBC&W’s “Total Design” philosophy as it emphasized architectural cohesion, landscaping, parking and traffic, and necessary functional elements to ensure that the complex suited the state government’s needs.
  The Capitol Complex is by far the most recognizable LBC&W government project in Columbia, but other commissions in the city include the Harden Street Fire Station and the U.S. Post Office. The goal of LBC&W's comprehensive planning approach was to introduce order and regularity to the sites. The Capitol Complex specifically was meant to serve as an example for how the rest of the downtown could be formed, with pedestrian pathways and easy parking.  Columbia relied on LBC&W to pave the way for the city to enter the 21st century.
caption: Columbia SC Post Office, LBC&W
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