Babcock Historic Cupola Reconstruction

The National Historic Register-listed Babcock Building at the South Carolina State Mental Hospital has anchored the northern edge of downtown Columbia since 1885. Its iconic, red-domed cupola is visible from numerous vantage points across the city. Like many similar institutions, the building and its grounds were effectively abandoned by the mid-1990s, steadily falling into disrepair. In recent years, the property finally found a brave developer to take on the charge of realizing an entirely new, well-situated, and density-adding neighborhood for Columbia on the property — branded as the “Bull Street District” – with the iconic centerpiece Babcock to become a 208-unit apartment complex.

In 2020, while work was underway, the building caught fire, and the entire cupola collapsed. The developer was steadfast in its commitment to the preservation of the district’s icon, but to meet the tight deadlines and construction methods it had set, the existing design team required specialized assistance.

With nothing more than photos for reference, MA faithfully recreated the distinct and idiosyncratic classical forms of the original cupola. Executing the project with modern materials and construction techniques not only ensures its longevity but also demonstrates how ornamental forms and the placemaking typology of towers and cupolas — often sworn off as too labor-intensive and cost-ineffective — can (and should!) be incorporated into contemporary, developer-driven projects.

In collaboration with Design Physics.