PERSPECTIVES
There are few areas of the city that are changing more rapidly than the section of South Boston near the Broadway T station. For some visitors, it seems like the landscape looks different every time they amble off the Red Line escalator.
And there are few firms more involved right now in this transformation than RODE Architects, the South End firm run by Eric Robinson and Kevin Deabler.
“We’re seeing the movement of pulling the density toward the train stations [all over the city] and we think that’s a good thing,” Robinson says. “West Broadway, in our minds, is an interesting case study of that happening and it’s been successful so far.”
Read the full article at the Boston Globe.
In our recent interview with Christine Cipriani, from Architect Magazine, we share our design philosophies and diverse portfolio of work, including large-scale industrial projects in Boston and New York City.
We discuss how we seek out projects with the potential to transform a space or an entire neighborhood, bringing buildings into the foreground with strong formal moves. According to Eric, one of RODE’s principles, “Many of our projects have a commercial or retail component that serves the community, and a way to talk about the project to neighbors who otherwise get turned off by development.”
Read the full interview at Architects Magazine.
Starting off in the basement of a Savin Hill home, tackling tiny remodels and revamps, RODE has grown into a crew of 16 working in a bright, open South End office. Along the way, we have been entrusted with some of Dorchester’s most innovative renovations, which always involve impassioned community feedback. By merging our work with our love for Boston, we want to foster deeper connections to the environment.
“We see them as a partner,” said Matt Malloy of the Dorchester Brewing Company. “They are part of the team, and when we have a challenge, it’s about, ‘great, how do we solve this?’ ”
Learn more in our interview with Jennifer Smith at the Dorchester Reporter.
Dot Block has received unanimous approval from the Boston Civic Design Commission. This milestone in the city review process focuses on the project’s public merits and overall design strategy. Dot Block is aimed at being the biggest single development in Dorchester history, covering four acres of land adjacent to Dorchester Avenue and minutes from the Savin Hill T Station. The pedestrian-oriented public spaces will invigorate the heart of the site by fostering an active street life, with the introduction of cafes, restaurant, and other retail spaces. We are now working towards BRA board approval, onward and upward.
The New York City Department of Sanitation’s new garage-and-salt-shed complex has opened in Hudson Square, on the northern edge of TriBeca. It is a great example of designers elevating utilitarian buildings in a way that honors the area’s historic industrial character, similar to RODE’s project with New York City EDC to develop plans for an iconic high-tech concrete facility and separate recycling center that serves the community in a functional and aesthetic way.
Original article by Michael Kimmelman: http://nyti.ms/1TeGo5d
