PERSPECTIVES
Ben Wan and Jessica Haley promoted to principals as firm expands its size and breadth of work
BOSTON, April 4, 2023 - RODE Architects, a Boston-based collaborative design and architecture firm, is proud to announce the promotion of Ben Wan and Jessica Haley to principal, recognizing their design leadership and continued contributions to the firm. The promotions come at an important time of growth for the company, which has grown to 35 employees since its founding in 2006, and has expanded its work throughout the region. Their work continues to focus on the transformative power of a collaborative design process, now being applied on new project types that reflect how the world has changed over the past few years.
“RODE will always strive to make ourselves better, and the promotions of our staff, especially at the higher levels denotes our mission to always focus and reinvest in the firm to insure its viability into the future. Ben and Jess represent the best of RODE and we are excited to see them grow into these deserving promotions,” said Eric Robinson, Principal and Co-Founder of RODE.
“We are extremely proud of the resilience of our team at RODE and how our team’s culture has adapted to the unprecedented conditions of the last few years. During this time we've continued to grow our capabilities and build on our reputation for delivering transformative design,” said Kevin Deabler, Principal and Co-Founder of RODE.
The firm, which just finalized its office renovation that doubled their physical footprint, looks forward to continued growth and expansion with Wan and Haley, both longtime team members, taking on expanded leadership positions.
The promotions signify that both Wan and Haley are leaders within the firm and in the industry. They’ve each spent over ten years helping cultivate and develop the deep expertise RODE is known for- tackling complex problems and delivering strong, concept-driven solutions. Deabler and Robinson will continue to lead alongside the new Principals. This allows Deabler and Robinson to expand the firm’s work into new regions with an expanding client-base.
Wan, who was the firm’s first employee, is often involved in all aspects of RODE’s design process and internal operations. His work is focused on finding elegant design solutions within the complexities of building programs, urban communities, and diverse user-groups. He can see through the challenges of climate resilience, sustainability and policy reform to deliver positive results for his clients. Highlights from his portfolio include the redesign of Harvard Art Museum’s off-campus conservation lab and research center, the Neponset Wharf redevelopment, and the Appalachian Mountain Club’s new headquarters.
Haley, who also serves as the Director of Interior Design, keeps a strong pulse on the industry as an integral part of RODE’s growth in the hospitality sector as well as their success in creating community through transformative design. Haley’s unique, concept-driven approach to interior design and architecture focus on human experience and has resulted in spaces that create community. Her portfolio includes Cambria Hotel Boston Downtown-South Boston and Chef Will Gilson’s multifaceted space, The Lexington, with three distinct dining experiences under one roof. RODE is anticipating strong growth in its interior design work over the next five to 10 years.
With the addition of Wan and Haley to the leadership team, RODE is well positioned for an expanded presence across the northeastern US, including active projects in six states. As they continue to expand, RODE will continue to demonstrate why their concept-driven approach works across all typologies to elevate the human experience and build community.
About RODE Architects
RODE is a Boston-based team of architects, designers, and urban planners who know that great design has the power to transform our environment. We have cultivated a network of driven people – employees, clients, builders, community members – who share this mission, and know that working collaboratively is the best way to achieve our goals. The breadth and depth of our collective capabilities enable us to apply our practice across an array of project types that includes mixed-use, hospitality, multi-family, commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings. Clients select RODE to drive the design process and ensure their vision is realized. For more information and to be inspired visit www.rodearchitects.com.
MEDIA CONTACT: Natalie Milewski, Elevate Communications, nmilewski@elevatecom.com
Originally posted on the Boston Real Estate Times, February 20, 2023
WALTHAM, MA—Boston Real Estate Times, the region’s largest print, online and video real estate magazine, today announced its list of Outstanding Women of Commercial Real Estate 2023. All the winners will be honored on March 10, 2023 during a breakfast award ceremony at the Westin Hotel in Waltham, MA.
“They are being recognized for their outstanding contribution to the commercial real estate industry in New England,” said Upendra Mishra, publisher of the Boston Real Estate Times and its sister publication Life Sciences Times. “We’re also very thankful to our readers who took their time and nominated these pioneering women. We’re looking forward to honoring them on behalf of our readers and the commercial real estate community on March 10, 2023.)
Boston Real Estate Times will also publish a special glossy print edition that will highlight the contribution and achievements of this group.
The breakfast award ceremony will be held on March 10, 2023 from 7:00 am to 10:30 am at Westin Hotel in Waltham, MA.
To purchase a ticket, please click here. For sponsorship opportunities, please email events@MishraGroup.com .
Jessica Haley, Principal & Director of Interior Design, RODE Architects
Jessica is RODE Architects Principal and Director of Interior Design. Jessica heads the firm’s interiors team, which is responsible for many of Greater Boston’s most loved spaces, including Bar Volpe, Cambria Hotel South Boston, The Lexington and James Beard nominated SRV. In addition to hospitality, Jessica has worked within a variety of other sectors including multi-family, corporate and institutional, with her work featured in NBC’s Restaurants Reinvented, Restaurant Development + Design Magazine and other national publications.
Jessica has cultivated a rigorous design approach within the firm that defines a foundational concept for every project, then crafts a cohesive and inspired space around it. This has led to the creation of memorable, unique designs that combine tried and true design with an innovative approach. Since joining RODE, which is proud to be 53% female in an often male-dominated industry, Jessica has worked on more than three dozen projects in the region – which showcases her impact on design in the city. Boston provides a richly layered historic context for designers, and Jessica has exhibited an adept skill and deep experience in making contemporary spaces that complement that existing fabric, while imbuing projects with humanistic vitality.
Jessica has been pivotal in growing the interiors team at RODE, which now accounts for 15% of the total employees. Jessica has been instrumental as a mentor to many at the firm as they progress their careers in the industry. Jessica also serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Boston Architectural College (BAC), where she was recently awarded the 2022 Distinguished Alumni in Interior Architecture Award for her exemplary accomplishments, service and commitment to the field of interior design.
Developing the future means figuring out our relationship with industrial real estate. Creating a modern city takes imagination - like imagining how to coexist with a little more density or considering more equitable ways to move through our streets and sidewalks. But to balance these priorities with economic growth, we need to imagine combining building use types we probably never thought would be together.
The Urban Industrial Market
Over the past three years, supply chain interruptions have become major obstacles to our economy’s health, impacting all major distribution channels in some manner. More than ever, our cities depend on industrial buildings – modernized warehouses, logistics hubs, and local manufacturing facilities – to maintain the flow of goods and services that fuel our economy.
Principal & co-founder Kevin Deabler will be discussing the future of urban industrial next week at BISNOW’s “Innovating and Developing Boston’s Industrial Market” panel (February 8). Here’s a sneak peek of the issues we’ll be tackling!
- What is the current market demand for development and how are supply vs. demand dynamics impacting the market?
- From a design standpoint, how are you building in flexibility to your spaces to keep up with the changing demand?
- How are development and design needs changing based on the type of tenant: mom and pop store vs. bigger box companies?
We hope to see you there; if you’re not already registered, do so at this link (psst, coupon code I20PfFwTKs will get you 20% off).
RODE is proud to announce the promotion of Amanda Sanders to Associate. With 18 years of industry experience focusing on historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and institutional projects within the higher education field, Sanders has been instrumental to the firm’s success with her contributions to design excellence, and also as a mentor in the studio.
By elevating Sanders to an Associate, the firm is recognizing her exhibited leadership in the studio and on project work. She will continue to lead the Sustainability Committee, ensuring that all of the firm’s projects and internal operations meet established goals. Sustainability has always been core tenant of the firm, and Sanders recently led the firmwide initiative of signing on to the AIA 2030 Commitment.
Since joining RODE in 2021, Sanders has worked on notable projects at RODE Architects, including 1515 Commonwealth Avenue, RODE’s largest project to date; two adaptive reuse mill projects in New Hampshire; and projects for Harvard University and the Harvard Arboretum.
“We’re excited to announce the promotion of Amanda Sanders, who has quickly made an impact at RODE, exhibiting what great leadership is by sharing her passion for sustainability and creating strategic goals for our team,” said Kevin Deabler, AIA, LEED AP, Principal & Co-Founder of RODE Architects. “We are excited to continue our growth and Amanda will help us tackle complex projects in our city and beyond.”
Originally from Iowa, Sanders studied at Iowa State University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Architecture degree. Prior to joining RODE, she was a Senior Associate at Goody Clancy, where she worked as part of the preservation practice group and served on the sustainability committee. Sanders is a member of the Boston Preservation Alliance, where she is an active participant on the Advocacy Committee and Awards Committee, and the Association of Preservation Technology Northeast Chapter. She has worked on several significant historic restoration projects including Boston Symphony Hall, University of Virginia’s Academical Village (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and Jose Lluis Sert’s New House on MIT’s
RODE is thrilled to announce that our proposal for 157 West Springfield Street was approved by the South End Landmark District Commission after more than a year of development and discussions with the City of Boston and the South End community.
The design team met with the Landmarks Commission for two advisory hearings over the course of a year before the formal hearing took place on August 2nd. RODE engaged in a productive conversation with the Commissioners that led to the more refined details for the renovation and an improved material palette for the addition. The Commissioners “found our responsiveness refreshing” and really appreciated RODE’s approach to the restoration of this historic building.
The Ebenezer Baptist Church was founded by a group of former slaves from Virginia who began worshipping in a member’s kitchen in 1847 before moving into the church at 157 West Springfield Street in 1887. The congregation left in 2020 for a larger space better suited to the needs of their changing membership.
The renovation and two-story addition to the Ebenezer Baptist Church is an exciting opportunity to restore a historic building and create nine new residential units on site. The project will restore the existing brickwork while creating a new architectural intervention that will be respectful of the existing structure. On the front façade, the stone stoops will be repaired, the gardens revitalized, and the front doors restored to reflect their historic appearance. SEDLC commissioners loved the fact that RODE “put renovation first” and appreciate the designs clarity between renovated existing building and the contemporary addition.
The addition is formed by pulling up the four corners of the existing roof to create large dormers, allowing light and air into the new units. Following the structural rhythm of the original roofline, the ridge line of the existing roof is referenced in the forms of the new addition. The glossy materials under the new roof reflect the context back into the neighborhood, suggesting the new roof is floating over its historic base.
