Thompson E. Penney uses art of architecture to focus design
By Kristen Poland, Staff Writer

It’s hard to say whether Thompson E. Penney has had more influence on the architectural firm he runs or if it has had more influence on him. It has been more than 40 years since Penney, then in high school, talked founder Frank Lucas into hiring him as a go-fer at Lucas and Stubbs Associates Ltd. Today, Penney is president and CEO of the company, which has since been renamed LS3P.

“We grew up together,” Penney said of himself and the firm. “When I worked as a go-fer, I did anything that needed to be done. I wanted to learn about being an architect.”

The go-ferr job fueled a spark originally lit by Penney’s sixth-grade science teacher. She suggested to Penney that he would make a good architect and to further pique his interest, allowed him to read a biography of Frank Lloyd Wright in lieu of dissecting a frog.

“I didn’t even know what an architect was,” Penney recalled.

After graduating from Clemson University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture, Penney returned to his roots in Charleston, and accepted a job offer from his old company, Lucas and Stubbs Associates Ltd. At the time, the firm had one office and about 15 employees. When Penney became president of the company in 1989 at age 39, he estimates there were between 50-70 employees. Since then, under Penney’s leadership, the company has grown to a regional firm of about 250 employees in five offices throughout North and South Carolina.

In 2005, Penney strategically teamed a merger and led the development of an additional LS3P Associates office in Columbia. The firm is ranked as one of the top 50 architect-lead design firms in the United States by Architectural Record and has been recognized by Engineering News-Record as one of the top 500 design firms in the country.

The son of an accountant, Penney possesses a strong interest in the business of architecture, as well as the art. That is, Penney thinks architecture can affect the mood, mindset and even health of those exposed to it. Instead of simply designing based on aesthetic appeal, LS3P architects create design based not simply on aesthetics, but with a calculated purpose of how architectural design might improve the business of the client.

“When we’re working on a project, we think of how this design can help to enhance the client’s business,” Penney said. “Clients are very interested in this research-based concept because they understand they are gaining a competitive edge.”

Research into the business of architecture examines the effects of the way people perceive an experience. Penney said studies show that patients in hospital rooms with ample natural light request less pain medication and show signs of quicker recovery. Likewise, students in classrooms with lots of windows and light tend to exhibit a higher level of performance. 

In 2003, while he was serving as president of the American Institute of Architecture, Penney exposed his colleagues to this research when he themed the AIA National Convention “Poetry and Proof.” The “Poetry” focused on the beauty and art of architecture and the “Proof” addressed the research and business side. He brought in a neuroscientist to speak about the impact of architecture on the brain. As part of this research-based approach to architecture, the AIA, under Penney’s leadership, launched an extensive knowledge agenda, including the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture. Another initiative launched during Penney’s term is the new American Institute of Architects Journal of Architecture, which is a scholarly journal focused on knowledge and research targeted at not only architects, but the public at large.

Penney lives in Charleston with his wife, Gretchen McKellar Penney, who is a retired architect. The couple has four grown children. When Penney finds a moment to relax, he enjoys golfing, collecting art and catching up on some reading from his collection of fiction books that feature architects as characters.