Horizon I Research Facility
University of South Carolina
This prominently sited, five-story structure ties the University of South Carolina (USC) traditional campus to its new urban “innovista” research campus. The facility supports programs in engineering, technology, scientific research, and industrial development of alternative energy sources.
Research includes two floors dedicated to hydrogen fuel cell studies with laboratory areas for Proton Enhanced Membrane (PEM) and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC). The first floor is dedicated to characterization chemistry and the second floor has a program in nanopolymers. The ground and fourth floors are set aside for future development.
Each laboratory utilizes high performance variable air volume fume hoods with air flow control based on sash position. Fuel cell research laboratories have centrally piped hydrogen and nitrogen gases and also house cylinders for hydrogen rich specialty reformate gases. All laboratory process equipment utilizes a recirculating cooling system to reduce portable water usage.
SSOE was involved in the planning and programming efforts and provided mechanical, electrical and fire protection construction documents for this building. Review of the contractor’s shop drawings, was performed to detect errors and omissions which were found and corrected prior to the fire marshal’s review. The fire alarm design was upgraded to meet code. This allowed passing of the drawings by the jurisdiction on the first review. Life cycle analysis and careful evaluation of alternative energy usage systems were important to the sustainable aspects of this building. The construction was fast-track accomplished by utilizing Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) method.
Have a question regarding our services? Need assistance with an upcoming project? Send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you and will follow up soon.
© SSOE GROUP 1948-2025
Legal | Privacy Policy | CA Privacy Policy
Website designed and developed by
Raincastle Communications, Inc.
SSOE is actively piloting AI Chat large language models (LLMs) or copilots that use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to streamline both design and development tasks, transforming how our teams interact with software and each other.
By integrating chat LLM engines into platforms like Revit, we’re enabling users to prompt complex actions using simple, conversational commands. In Revit, this means automating tasks such as modeling elements, cleaning up parameter data, managing annotations and dimensions, and organizing sheets—without writing scripts. These automations and quality prompts can be shared across project teams, accelerating workflows and reducing manual effort.
Similarly, our internal Software Development Community is leveraging GitHub Copilot to expedite coding tasks. Developers can generate and refine code using NLP prompts, tapping into GitHub’s extensive Repo to move faster from concept to implementation.
Together, these tools represent a shift from traditional, expert-driven scripting to intuitive, AI-assisted automation, unlocking new levels of efficiency and scalability across our projects.
SSOE is utilizing Microsoft Copilot Edge and M365 to significantly enhance work efficiency and accuracy across various departments. Copilot is accessible to all staff after training. Key areas of application include using it as a writing assistant, for idea generation, document summarization and generation, research assistant, excel assistant, programming code assistant, language translations, product comparison and data analysis. Use of Copilot has become part of the everyday life of SSOE employees who have identified key ways it can help them become more efficient with their daily tasks as well as more accurate in their deliverables.
Today, 100% of SSOE employees have taken the voluntary training and have access to Copilot Edge, achieving early our October 1, 2025 goal.
We found ourselves in need of a more robust tool to enhance resource forecasting and staff assignment capabilities. Instead of waiting for the perfect tool, we’re building it. SSOE’s in-house technology team has developed and piloted a tool that aims to forecast optimal staff mix and duration for new projects against existing workload to better understand capacity and manage resources efficiently. Additionally, the tool will allow teams to identify gaps to optimal staff mix.
SSOE has developed a proof-of-concept to use an AI Agent to act as a Master Engineer and Architect trained in SSOE’s processes, best-known-methods, and trainings. Our data structure is being remodeled to enable better use of our proprietary knowledge to train the agent on the ‘SSOE way’.
We helped our client visualize and optimize façade design for occupant comfort—long before breaking ground through the use of the Autodesk Forma tool. It allows the designer to rapidly experiment with the building’s geometry and façade design to promote sustainability, prioritizing quality of spaces and comfort for end uses, especially in extreme climates (daylighting and microclimate analysis tools) at the project’s exact geographic location, using location-specific environmental data.
Discover how SSOE is using Autodesk Forma to improve sustainability outcomes for industrial projects: SSOE Group: Improving sustainability outcomes for industrial projects with Autodesk Forma.
Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) is SSOE’s enterprise-wide project delivery platform. We partner with the Autodesk Product team and have research access. Use of the AI Assistant allows our design teams, owners, and general contractors the ability to query the project specifications for quality, answers, and more rapid responses to RFIs, submittals, or issues.