Corner of High & Gay Awarded the Harrison Smith Award

The corner of High & Gay Streets in Downtown Columbus was recently awarded the Harrison Smith Award from the Columbus Downtown Commission. The "Smithy" award is given annually and recognizes and celebrates downtown projects that reflect Harrison Smith's vision of bold, well-executed, and inspirational urban projects.

SMBH was lucky enough to work on two projects in the area: The Nicholas and "Current."

The Nicholas is a 398,000 SF premier mixed-use development comprised of residential, retail, and parking spaces. The project includes a basement, first-level and second-level parking providing 392 parking spaces, along with a 2,000 SF leasing office and lobby. The parking garage houses building services and support spaces for both the residential and retail uses. The first floor also features 21,500 SF of white-box retail space. Above, the building contains 230 luxury apartment units. Resident amenities total approximately 2,500 SF and are organized around two exterior courtyards, including an infinity-edge outdoor swimming pool.

An aerial photo of Janet Echelman's "Current," hanging in downtown Columbus. Composed of different colors of twine and suspended from four different buildings.

Current is the newest and most significant private contribution to public art in Columbus that hangs at the corner of High & Gay Streets. Illuminated at night and visible from all four directions at different elevations, the sculpture can be seen by airplane. Janet Echelman's piece comprises 78 miles of twine woven into over 500,000 knots, which spans 83 feet wide and 229 feet long, 128 feet in the air.