PERSPECTIVES

Boston-based firm completes work at 100,000 square foot upscale hotel based in historic South Boston

BOSTON, MA (Jan.  28, 2020) – RODE Architects, a Boston-based collaborative design and architecture firm, is proud to announce the completion of Cambria Hotel Boston, Downtown-South Boston at 6 West Broadway. Located in historic South Boston, the hotel’s architecture and design pay homage to its surrounding neighborhood, and bring 159 upscale rooms to one of Boston’s most vibrant communities. In addition, the hotel features a rooftop restaurant with unobstructed views of Downtown, Back Bay, Dorchester, South Boston, Seaport and the Harbor; a lobby lounge; a 160-person event space; and fitness center.

RODE was the architect for the full exterior, rooftop bar, and all elements of the interior design – lobby, event space, guest rooms, and more. In designing the new Cambria, RODE worked to curate a sophisticated, Boston-specific character, referencing the architectural language of South Boston and the Fort Point with concrete, brick, and wood textures, then layering on references to the region’s iconic natural seasons and its rich contributions to literature and academia. Light and nature appear as engaging, active elements applied in a simple, refined palette of high-contrast shadows traced over solid forms and accented by jewel-tone emerald greens. The personality of New England is represented by the occasional touch of an inspirational quote or reading-room-inspired fixture, establishing an intellectual presence that connects to history and inspires travelers.

“We’ve been living and working in this neighborhood for 15 years and are excited to see this hotel reach completion,” said Kevin S. Deabler, AIA, LEED-AP, Principal & Co-Founder of RODE Architects. “Cambria Hotel Downtown-South Boston highlights our firm’s ability to develop and bring concept to life through a cohesive exterior and interior design while respecting the surrounding neighborhood. We are excited to continue building our portfolio of projects that add vitality to our city.”

Based on a concept design by Minneapolis-based VJAA, the hotel embraces the drama of the bustling streetscape at its front door. The form of the building reflects Boston’s irregular street grid with folding planes and geometries that spotlight the surrounding urban bustle. RODE’s design features floor-to-ceiling glass curtainwall throughout the main public spaces of the hotel, and stone flooring in the lobby and at the sidewalk draws a visual continuity between interior and exterior spaces. The energy of the public realm connects with the adjacent lobby of 14West, a 49-unit condominium building also designed by RODE.

Key features in the building’s interior include custom collaborations resulting in two unique installations. RODE collaborated with London-based artist Simon Heijdens to bring his Lightweeds installation of light-projected tree-forms to the hotel’s common spaces, providing an interactive experience for guests that replicates each of Boston’s distinct seasons. Additionally, RODE collaborated with Yellow Goat Design to create a custom chandelier, which was inspired by the weeping willows of Boston’s Public Garden. The chandelier has more than 1,200 leaf ‘elements’ suspended from a 16-foot-long armature, hanging 16-feet-high against the glass curtainwall of the lobby.

Additional custom design elements include:

• A corridor carpet that presents the twisting silhouetted lines of tree branches, which transitions to the dappled light of a leafy canopy in the guest rooms  
• Rooms featuring an integrated bed and nightstand, with leather-binding and brass detailing, and substantial bathroom vanities  
• Millwork components that cater to the “modern traveler” with a simple, clean, and open design  
• Charred-wood wall finishing and a felt wall in the lobby to evoke the notion of academia  
• Brass finishing on shelving and the lounge back bar  
• Light fixtures inspired by reading room task lighting

The hotel sits directly across from a public transportation stop along the MBTA’s red line, which provides guests with easy access to all the main attractions of Boston and Cambridge. The hotel is positioned to frame a prominent gateway into South Boston, and is a hallmark of that neighborhood’s elevated position as an economic and cultural engine for the region.

“The building taps into the architectural language of the Fort Point neighborhood, leading to simple but confident moves in familiar concrete, brick, and wood beam textures,” said Jessica Haley, Associate, Head of Interiors at RODE Architects. “By giving unique twists to established designs, the hotel fits in harmony, while also giving a new architectural flare to the neighborhood.”

Amid the completion of Cambria Hotel Boston, Downtown-South Boston, RODE is currently working on more than six projects in South Boston, ten in Dorchester, five restaurants and many other mixed-use buildings throughout the Boston area.

For reservations or hotel information please visit www.CambriaBoston.com. See the project page here and for the design fact sheet, click here.

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.

About Cambria Hotels

The Cambria Hotels brand is designed for the modern traveler, offering guests a distinct experience with simple, guilt-free indulgences allowing them to treat themselves while on the road. Properties feature compelling design inspired by the location, spacious and comfortable rooms, flexible meeting space, and local, freshly prepared food and craft beer. Cambria Hotels is rapidly expanding in major U.S. cities, with hotels open in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. There are over 125 Cambria properties open or in the pipeline across the United States, with 50 currently open. To learn more, visit www.choicehotels.com/cambria.

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RODE Architects is proud to announce that it has been awarded a Design Citation by the Boston Society of Architects at the 2019 BSA Design Awards. The Boston Society of Architects announced the winner at their annual gala on January 23, 2020.

“We take pride in helping our clients achieve their vision by working with them from concept to fruition,” said Principal Kevin Deabler. “We are proud of our work throughout the city, and to be recognized by the BSA for this achievement is a great accomplishment for the firm. We look forward to continuing to bring forward-thinking design to the places where we live and work.”

The Boston Society of Architects Design Awards are the most prestigious industry awards in New England, recognizing outstanding individuals and organizations throughout the region. RODE’s award was in recognition of the Glenville Townhomes project – a three-story, eight-unit residential building in Boston’s Allston neighborhood.

Jury comments read:

"These townhomes stand out as something different, which they didn’t have to be.

The architect’s thoughtful diligence in working within the confines of city zoning and guidelines to make a memorable building is obvious. With clever cutaways and movement that responds to the street, this project is a positive addition to the corner it occupies."

“We are particularly honored by this award for the Glenville Townhomes, as it speaks to our process of getting the community involved in our design process early, and often, and successfully incorporating their feedback into the final design,” said Deabler. “The community expressed a strong desire for a smaller scale building that would enable the preservation of the two existing structures on the site. Faced with this and other constraints, we were still able to achieve the client’s program, and in the process designed a building that offers a striking, transitional moment between the adjacent building scales.”

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RODE is proud to announce that Bremen Street received approval from the Boston Civic Design Commission, a major milestone for this striking new development facing the Bremen Street Community Park.

Our design takes great care to integrate the scale of a 145-unit building into a dense, existing residential building fabric, while also offering a bold, contemporary vision for the neighborhood. The integration with the community extends to the building program: artist units and maker-space amenities work to sustain the local creative community.

We are especially appreciative of the encouragement voiced by members of the Commission:

This is the kind of the mid-scale project that we should be encouraging all over the city. It's well-crafted architecturally with a variety that is economical and superior to typical residential projects we see in the city.   / William Rawn

I'm impressed with how you took a long building that fits into the context without directly imitating. This is a nice project.   / Andrea Leers

I commend you on creating something modern and new that is still responsive to the existing neighborhood. You can see the ways the module of triple-deckers in the neighborhood have translated into this design....

...I would like to add that this project should be used as a model for residential projects of this scale that come before the Commission.   / Anne-Marie Lubenau

The project will now work to secure approvals from the BPDA, and looks forward to breaking ground later in the year.

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The following interview was published on the Boston Society of Architects website in May 2019.

Eric and Kevin were recently interviewed for a firm profile with the BSA, and what followed was a great conversation that touched on RODE's perspective of the city and what it means to design for our community:

You’re rooted in Boston, right? How did your practice come together?

Yes, we've built our lives in the Dorchester community, although if you ask our long-time resident neighbors, they might still say we’re the new guys on the block (19 years, hardly new guys)! We do bring an outsider’s perspective – we met while pursuing our undergraduate degrees at NC State – that allows us to see the opportunities before our neighborhood. And so we joined together to form RODE (ROW-dee) out of an aspiration to do better for Dorchester. The firm’s early days were built off personal relationships, local visibility, and civic engagement - we were just two guys who wanted to improve our own community. Now we use those initial goals to improve every neighborhood of Boston.

What makes Boston a unique place for architecture/planning practices today?

This city is grounded in a rich, centuries-long history, and has reinvented itself many times over that history. Today the city’s global profile brings fortune 500 headquarters and international investment to the inner-core neighborhoods; it’s a great time for Boston! Meanwhile, the peripheral neighborhoods remain an underserved market for great design. This isn’t necessarily a problem unique to our city, but we do see the way Boston’s neighborhoods each hold distinct concerns, demographics, and values, and that can have a direct effect on the way projects move through the community review process.

We are particularly attuned to the strength neighborhoods hold in influencing the outcomes of development. Any hope for successfully navigating the approvals process requires seeing this strength an asset; in fact, some of our most successful partnerships have arisen out of community review. Gaining the support of local constituents while advocating for the interests of your client – all amid escalating construction costs – requires real imagination and vision. That is probably one of the reasons why we haven’t seen enough design richness and innovation in the city. But with the right partners and community insight, we are hopeful the city will rise to the challenge of bringing new design ideas to fruition.

Your work seems to elevate a community’s natural vibe. What’ve you learned about talking with clients, builders, and people in the community that helps you get the essence of a structure, space, or place just right? Why is it important to do that?

We love our role as architects, one that realizes tangible change that can improve people’s daily lives. To best achieve that goal, we have to instill each project with the values and character of the people that will be effected by them, both occupants and neighbors. RODE’s work is built on collaboration, and we find that everything we do depends on the energy that all members of the team brings to the process. Architects translate program and need into design opportunity, and we must be nimble enough to allow the idiosyncrasies that arise from a collaborative process to influence and enrich the design.

Another perspective that grounds our approach is the experience of sitting on the other side of the table, and being on the receiving end of new development in our neighborhood. Knowing your audience, and finding way to convey the goals of the project in a common language will ensure that all parties involved can share a sense of ownership and pride in the finished project.

Will you share an unexpectedly delightful experience you’ve encountered during the community engagement process here in Boston?

RODE has built an approachable process that lets us communicate in many different venues, but it is not a formulaic approach. Every time we are out talking to a community we have to find that shared language to effectively communicate a project’s goals. We held bi-lingual community meetings for our 3200 Washington St project, to make the process more accessible to Jamaica Plain’s diverse population, and the participation was enthusiastic. Projects like DOT Block get presented many times to nearly a dozen different community associations, and with good reason, as projects at that scale can have an impact far beyond their immediate abutters. In our own neighborhood, we were able to achieve true transit-oriented development at Savin Residences with no parking, by having honest and informed discussions with our neighbors.

You just announced news about working with The Community Builders and Pine Street Inn to develop permanent supportive housing for former Pine Street residents and others who may need it. Congratulations! What’s the big thinking behind this project and why was it appealing to you as people and as practicing design professionals?

Thank you! RODE thrives off the energy of our clients, and these two institutions bring a drive and a know-how for solving deeply-rooted social & urban problems that is infectious and inspiring. We believe in their mission, and know that our design and planning expertise can bring physical form to their aspirations. Architecture is routinely perceived as an unapproachable luxury, so we are on a mission to change this perception. We know that good design improves the daily existence of its users and enhances our overall lives no matter what the budget. With the right partners, this can be possible.

The housing crisis, grappling with a thriving economy that leaves some populations in its wake - these are themes that too often headline our news cycle. So there is enormous excitement among all team members to be engaged together on a project that directly addresses these issues.

What will it look like if the TCB/Pine Street project is successful? What might it inspire throughout Greater Boston or elsewhere?

Success means proving that supportive and affordable housing can be built within the constraints of today’s construction industry. A project of this scope and scale is impossible without a strong public-private partnership, and The Community Builders have cultivated a model that proves this can be a workable solution for other communities.

In terms of its presence in the neighborhood, we hope that this project will blend in with the contemporary structures that are beginning to populate this corridor of Boston, and provide its residents with an armature to sustain a vibrant quality of life in this diverse community. RODE is approaching this project with the same care and diligence as any of our residential and mixed-use works, and will strive to guarantee it meets the same high standards as the rest of our portfolio.

What, if anything, can architecture/planning practices do to foster social equity among our communities?

Architects occupy a space at the crossroads of the private sector, government agencies, and the public realm. From this vantage point we can advocate on multiple fronts, and exert outsized influence on the way the built environment works for everyone. We do need to do a better job engaging the actual populations that are affected by our projects, and creating a venue where those voices can be heard. Admittedly, it can sometimes be tricky for architects to navigate that line, and to responsibly advocate for our client in an arena of sometimes competing interests. That is why we are excited by the unexpected alignments of some of our recent projects, where the collective benefits of the project are shared across many different constituencies.

What do you want to do next?

RODE has a unique perspective on design, by putting the communities we serve in the forefront of all that we do. We will continue to apply our creative skill as designers that empowers us to identify unexpected compatibilities among developers, institutions, and non-profits. RODE is currently engaged in mission-driven development on a number of fronts and in communities across the region. We are giving new form to two long standing religious institutions in Brighton, and helping the Boston Public Library envision a new, mixed-use typology. The institutions behind these projects are finding ways to leverage the current boom into opportunities to modernize, expand their reach and capability, and forge new connections across the urban landscape. We’ve only just begun to explore the possibilities that are unlocked by these types of collaborations, and look forward to many more unexpected ventures in the future.

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Many people know of acoustical design as it relates to concert halls, where it is vital to maintain the quality of the sound throughout the hall or, when desired, embellish the sound. Even on a smaller scale, like in a classroom, acoustics are important. Architects must design these spaces so there is no echo and a student in the back can hear as well as one in the front. Although this type of design is important, it is not the only role of acoustics in architecture. If you’ve ever worked in an office where you can hear every work spoken in a private conference room or lived in an apartment where you wondered if your upstairs neighbor was bowling every night just before you went to bed, you are familiar with the other side of acoustical design.

Acoustical separation is one of the biggest challenges of architecture and interior design. This problem is exacerbated in mixed-use buildings where very different program elements can be happening within the same building. In a recent RODE project, the fit-out of a commercial space for a new spin studio, we were tasked with providing acoustical separation between the studio and its neighbors. These neighbors included a spa on one side and apartments above, both of whom would be sensitive to potential noise intrusion.  Not ideal neighbors for a spin studio, especially one with loud music as a critical part of their brand and notes on their website that the “music will be bumping.”

Although there is a limit for any construction’s ability to block noise, it was our goal to do what we could to reduce it.  Working with Acentech, our acoustical consultant, we developed a ‘box-in-a-box’ strategy

for the cycling studio.  The two key elements of this strategy are mass and isolation. The isolation eliminates any pathway for the transference of sound and vibration, while the mass inhibits the transmission of sound from one area to another.  A different method is used to achieve isolation and mass at the floor, the walls, and the ceiling:

• At the floors, we employed a concrete floating floor system, the “Kinetics Noise Control RIM System”. This system consists of a 4” concrete slab on fiberglass isolators that prevent sound and vibration from transferring to the surrounding area through the base building floor slab.  A resilient interface and acoustical caulking is used to keep the topping slab from contacting any base building elements along the perimeter. On our project this was the surrounding party walls, but in some cases, it will be the base building floor slab. Often the floating floor system is set in a depressed floor slab for accessibility, the RIM System is typically over 6” thick, requiring a ramp.  

• Built on top of the floating floor are the acoustical walls, which consist of a 2” gap from any other building elements, cold-formed structural metal studs, and four layers of 5/8” gypsum wallboard with acoustical insulation packed tightly in to the stud layer. The cold-formed metal stud can support the walls vertically but must be braced laterally. With typical wall construction this is done by extending the wall up to the underside of the structure above. This cannot be done here because it would transfer sound and vibration to the adjacent spaces. Therefore, the walls are braced against the surrounding party walls using resilient sway braces which eliminate any transference of sound and vibration.

• The ceiling consists of a similar construction as the walls, with four layers of GWB on metal studs and acoustical insulation hung from above. Spring isolators are used at every hanger to keep sound or vibration from transferring. Hung from the GWB acoustical ceiling is an ACT ceiling to hide ductwork and allow for the installation of diffusers, sprinklers, and recessed light fixtures.

Because any weak areas in the system will allow for sound transmission, penetrations must be limited, and all joints and penetrations should be properly sealed using acoustical caulking. This is particularly critical because penetration can greatly reduce and, in some cases, eliminate the acoustical benefit of the construction. Another obvious weak point in the system is the door. There are many acoustical doors on the market but like anything else installing the right one is key. Acoustical doors, such as “Noise Barriers QuietSwing Door”, come fully assembled from the factory, which ensures the door properly seals in the noise. Kit-of-part doors are more susceptible to assembly errors which can, again, reduce or eliminate the acoustical benefit of the system.

As noted above this box-in-a-box system provides the mass (4 layers of GWB or 4” of concrete) and isolation (fiberglass isolators, sway braces, or spring isolators) to allow for our clients to create the music driven experience they desire while still being respectful of their neighbors. These similar strategies can be used throughout different projects.

Even if the system doesn’t need to be as robust the principles still apply. In an office where you need privacy between offices, or the shared walls of a multi-family residence, adding mass to the walls and sealing penetrations can create the needed privacy. Isolating mechanical equipment from the building structure avoids the transference of the noise and vibration to the rest of the building. Just as architects want the aesthetics of our projects to respond to their surroundings and we design the layout to work for the function of each space, acoustical design should be considered with the same specificity and care.

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