The Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority in 2004 was working on a plan to create a Conference Center on its unused property, once the site of Tip Top Plantation, along Bull Creek a fresh water connector between the Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers. The master plan of the site provides the least invasive footprint on the preserve. Building siting and massing coincided with the existing terrain and capitalize on the varying slopes and bluffs along the river’s edge. The various components of the conference center are spread over a hundred acres of the site, with all transportation, after check-in, by golf cart or on foot. It includes a Boat House with dock, as the center can be reached by boat from anywhere along the Grand Strand. The dock serves as a departing point for nature tours, as the Sandy Island Nature Preserve is directly across the Creek. A chapel is centrally located on the site, intended for non-denominational bookings and wedding services. All structures are contextually modern, utilizing traditional materials meant to blend in with the surrounding pine and oak forest. The low sleek modern buildings incorporate a signature inverted “V” roof reminiscent of birds in flight. The various components of the Conference Center are designed such that the project may be phased and constructed as funding becomes available. When totally complete, the center will have the appearance as if it were an outcropping of the pristine environment within which it is located.