Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle, and Wolff

rdf:langString Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle, and Wolff

rdf:langString Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle, and Wolff (LBC&W), 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. LBC&W designed some of South Carolina's – and certainly Columbia's – most prominent commercial and private buildings, creating the modern built environment of Columbia today.