Charleston SC Architects & Designers | AB Group
Offering architecture, planning, and design across the Southeast region!
AB Group is an architecture and design firm serving Charleston, South Carolina with thoughtful design, technical coordination, and permit-focused documentation for residential, commercial, hospitality, mixed-use, multifamily, retail, office, civic, worship, warehouse, and adaptive reuse projects.
Charleston projects require more than attractive design. They call for careful attention to historic context, coastal site conditions, neighborhood character, flood-aware planning, construction feasibility, and the realities of local review processes.
From concept planning and design development to permitting support and coordinated engineering, AB Group helps clients create spaces that are functional, resilient, code-conscious, and aligned with Charleston’s architectural setting.
Architect // Founding Principal
Alaa Bou Ghanem
Office: 170 Meeting St. Suite 110, Charleston, SC 29401
Phone: +1 (980) 999 0213
Email: info@abgnc.com
Creative Architecture and Design Solutions
What We Do!
Commercial Architecture
- AB Group designs commercial spaces for property owners, business owners, developers, and builders throughout the Charleston area.
- Our commercial architecture services support offices, retail spaces, restaurants, hospitality environments, tenant improvements, civic buildings, worship facilities, warehouses, industrial spaces, and mixed-use properties.
Residential Architecture
- We provide residential architecture services for custom homes, luxury residences, additions, renovations, coastal homes, and residential development projects.
- Our design approach balances lifestyle, site conditions, neighborhood character, construction feasibility, budget, and long-term property value.
Historic and Contextual Design
- Charleston’s built environment has a strong architectural identity, and many projects benefit from a design approach that respects scale, proportion, materials, streetscape presence, and historic context.
- We help clients develop design concepts that feel appropriate to their site while still supporting modern use, comfort, performance, and long-term durability.
Multifamily and Mixed-Use Design
- AB Group supports apartment developments, townhome communities, mixed-use buildings, and residential development projects in Charleston and surrounding Lowcountry communities.
- We help clients create efficient layouts, coordinated building concepts, and documentation that supports planning, permitting, consultant coordination, and construction.
Restaurant and Hospitality Design
- We design restaurants, cafés, bars, boutique hospitality spaces, lodging environments, and guest-facing interiors with a focus on function, experience, circulation, durability, and brand identity.
- Our team understands that hospitality projects need to work operationally while creating spaces that feel memorable, comfortable, and connected to place.
Interior Design
- Our interior design services include space planning, finish direction, material concepts, layout coordination, and design development for commercial and residential interiors.
- We focus on interiors that feel intentional, durable, functional, and aligned with the overall architectural vision.
Industrial and Warehouse Design
- AB Group provides design support for warehouse, light industrial, logistics, storage, and functional commercial environments.
- Our process considers circulation, operations, building performance, safety, code requirements, site constraints, and future flexibility.
Permitting Support
- We prepare and coordinate drawings, documentation, and required design information to support permit submission and review.
- Charleston projects may involve zoning, site plan review, floodplain requirements, BAR or DRB review, building permits, and consultant coordination depending on scope and location. The City’s BAR reviews visible exterior work in historic districts, while the DRB oversees design and alterations outside the historic districts.
Coordinated Engineering Support
- AB Group coordinates engineering needs with properly licensed professionals based on project scope, location, and jurisdictional requirements.
- This may include coordination for MEP, civil, structural, flood-related, and other technical disciplines as required.
Project Types
- Commercial offices and workplace interiors
- Retail stores and tenant upfits
- Restaurants, cafés, bars, and hospitality spaces
- Hotels, inns, and guest amenity spaces
- Mixed-use buildings
- Multifamily developments
- Townhomes and residential communities
- Warehouses and light industrial buildings
- Education and learning environments
- Civic and municipal spaces
- Worship and assembly spaces
- Custom homes and luxury residences
- Coastal homes, additions, and renovations
- Historic-area renovations and exterior improvements
- Adaptive reuse and building conversions
- Tenant improvements and change-of-use projects
- Site-sensitive and flood-aware development projects
Why Clients Choose AB Group
The Differentiators!
Charleston and Lowcountry Context
- We approach Charleston projects with attention to historic character, coastal conditions, neighborhood scale, permitting requirements, and the practical decisions that shape a successful project.
Historic-Sensitive, Design-Forward Thinking
- Our work balances contextual design with modern function, helping clients create spaces that respect their surroundings while meeting current needs.
Integrated Design Approach
- We consider architecture, interiors, permitting, and engineering coordination together so each project moves forward with fewer gaps between design intent and technical execution.
Commercial and Residential Experience
- Our team supports a wide range of project types, from restaurant upfits and retail spaces to multifamily developments, custom homes, renovations, and adaptive reuse projects.
Coastal and Flood-Aware Planning
- Charleston’s floodplain guidance emphasizes construction that reduces flood-damage risk based on current codes and flood maps, and floodplain requirements can affect project planning, design, documentation, and permitting.
Buildable, Budget-Aware Design
- We design with real project conditions in mind, including scope, budget, schedule, site constraints, code requirements, review processes, and construction feasibility.
Clear Process from Concept to Permit
- Clients receive structured guidance through discovery, concept design, design development, documentation, consultant coordination, permitting support, and construction-phase coordination.
Areas We Serve - Charleston SC
Charleston / Downtown Charleston / West Ashley / James Island / Johns Island / Daniel Island / Mount Pleasant / North Charleston / Summerville / Folly Beach / Sullivan’s Island / Isle of Palms / Kiawah Island / Seabrook Island
AB Group helps clients move from early ideas to clear, coordinated, permit-ready design. Whether you are planning a commercial space, restaurant, mixed-use project, custom home, renovation, adaptive reuse project, or residential development, our team can help you define the scope, organize the process, and move forward with confidence.
Architect Builder Group PLLC
310 East Blvd. Suite 6, Charlotte, NC 28203
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Charlotte NC; Austin TX; Charleston SC
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