Stuart Calwell always has enjoyed a reputation as a keen legal mind who looked to the future. Charleston’s West Side discovered his appreciation for things past.
The Calwell Practice is moving to a new location. The 30,000 square-foot ’20s-style building is just off the downtown interstate highway system and located on the corner of Randolph Street and Delaware Avenue. The 80-year old structure originally housed the Charleston Laundry and more recently was home to the Nissan parts and service department.
“The art deco/modern architectural style that we have chosen is distinctly different,” noted Calwell, who added that the desperately needed additional space would allow his growing firm to better serve clients.
Among the most distinctive features inside are the dozens of concrete columns on the first and second floors. Workers stripped away all interior walls, leaving just the columns to support the foot-thick concrete ceilings above. The supports are called tulip columns because of the way the flare out near the top.
“They are magnificent,” said Calwell who added, “I didn’t want to hide them behind walls. They were all formed by hand.”
During the final construction stage, workers sealed up window openings on the first floor, added vast expanses of glass on the second floor and added a third level.
Moveable wall systems will provide the firm with maximum flexibility to configure office space on the second floor. Workspaces closest to the windows will have low-level walls in order to let natural light filter back to other workstations.
“An open floor plan highlights the design of the second-floor offices,” noted Calwell. “The one thing we’ve done is kept away from fixed walls. We wanted natural light to filter in. Aside from my corner office, the second floor will be an open area.”
“We do a significant amount of mass litigation,” said Calwell, who added, “It involves large amounts of paperwork preparing for a trial. We purposely designed two large open areas where tables can be shoved together to hold the paperwork.”
Although the Calwell Practice argues cases in a number of states, most of the research is done in Charleston. Although the firm opened an office in New York, Calwell noted that the New York work would be outsourced to West Virginia.
“I believe that clients and guests will enjoy the placid and peaceful nature of Charleston’s West Side. Certainly it has a texture to it. It’s interesting. It has a certain ambience that is missing in other parts of the city.”
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