First Community Bank

Seeking to increase its downtown presence in Columbia, First Community Bank selected the first two stories of a mid-century modern office building as its new home in the Midlands. The 10,000 sf renovation created spaces for a branch bank on the ground floor and for financial consulting offices on the second floor. Glass panel walls in the conference rooms provide visibility to the corridor and offices beyond and maximize daylight. Carpet and accent walls throughout make use of First Community Bank’s signature green, comfortably branding the interior. Wood plank ceilings in the first floor are at once an update to the public space and a reference to the building’s mid-century original construction.

Additions to the building’s exterior include a glass canopy above its Lady Street entry and a landscape trellis-encased exterior stairwell at the building’s northeast corner. Constructing these additions in steel and glass created modern amenities while preserving visibility of the building’s historic features.  The new glass canopy added to the Lady Street entrance leaves the building’s characteristically mid-century storefront system unobscured; the landscape trellis-enclosed exterior staircase leaves east elevation windows visible, preserving the rhythm of the building’s eastern face. Renovations for First Community Bank’s spaces provided modern design solutions sensitive to the building’s historic character.

Photography by Brian Dressler.