PERSPECTIVES

Last week, RODE principal Kevin Deabler had the opportunity to speak with students at Cathedral High School for the biennial WilmerHale Career Day. Kevin has volunteered at the Career Day the last 8 years as a way to help prepare students for success in their future. Throughout the day, Kevin met with Cathedral students and discussed why he chose to become an architect and the greater good that can be achieved through design. His discussion directly relates to RODE's philosophy of  “building where we live” and how as designers, we have an opportunity to make a positive impact on our communities, and greater Boston, through thoughtful architecture and design.

Last week, RODE Architects had the pleasure of joining Illuminate lighting group at Rosie's Place, a women's shelter in the South End, to prepare meals for local women and children. Together, RODE and Illuminate helped serve 132 lunches and begin the prep work for that evening's dinner. Since opening in 1974 as the first women-only shelter in the United States, Rosie's Place has provided hot breakfast, lunch, and dinner 365 days a year to poor and homeless women and children. They also support the community by providing a safe and nurturing environment that allows women to maintain their dignity, seek opportunity and find security in their lives through a broad range of tools and services. These include a food pantry, emergency housing, advocacy services, and health and wellness care. The RODE team genuinely enjoyed being able to give back to the community and support the people in their neighborhood in the South End.

If you are interested in volunteering at Rosie's Place, head to their website to learn more: http://www.rosiesplace.org/volunteer

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The tobacco farm-aesthetic that diners can now experience at Southern Proper, the South End’s newest eatery, was designed by Boston-based RODE Architects.  Located on the ground floor of 600 Harrison Ave., RODE Architects developed its southern hospitality concept for the restaurant in tight collaboration with the food vision of Executive Chef and Owner Jason Cheek.

While having worked in the Boston architecture landscape for over 20 years, both Founder/Principals of RODE Architects have strong ties to the South; it was at NC State that the friends-turned-business-partners met and acquired their design degrees, making for the perfect partnership with Cheek, who drew from his North Carolina roots to bring “a taste of home” to Boston through the creation of Southern Proper.

The fully-integrated design approach of RODE’s interior group involved getting to know Cheek to fully understand his conceptual vision and operational needs. Many chefs have a very specific culinary inspiration for their food and craft, and through RODE’s rigorous design process they transform the culinary vision into the built environment, ensuring a thoughtful and well-executed dining experience.

To compliment Southern Proper’s authentic dishes and drinks, Cheek sought to outfit the restaurant with a unique environment. Jessica Haley, RODE’s lead interior designer, headed up this effort, developing a design concept that provides authentic, thoughtful nods to a southern home: relaxed, inviting and slightly eclectic. The design incorporates the feeling of a “down-home Sunday dinner,” a concept that inspired the centrally located oval bar. Additional elements, co-designed and fabricated with BHaley Designs, include seating options for large family-style tables, high tops and dining height tables. Custom designed tiered standing tables are positioned for casual eating and mingling. Further inspiration came from that of a traditional tobacco barn to create the ‘bones’ of the space where raw pine timbers crisscross overhead and rough sawn planks are back lit above the bar.

RODE incorporated traditional elements in a contemporary way throughout the space, for example creating a bar top made from a series of antique old dining room tables, and the hanging reclaimed table lamps upside down to make “old comfort” feel unexpected. The design also incorporates antique style wallpaper and light fixtures, green and gold accents, and smoke-infused, raw pine walls that allow natural light to seep in through the floor to high-vaulted ceiling spanning the perimeter.

"Southern Proper is paying homage to Jason’s roots, and he took great pains to deliver a traditional southern experience, so we wanted to ensure the atmosphere would reflect that vibe in the most authentic ways possible,” said Eric Robinson, principal and co-founder, RODE Architects.

The growth of RODE Architect’s interiors group echoes the broader demand for design expertise and services that bring the firm’s clients' visions to reality, such as the work achieved for notable spaces including Commonwealth Market and Restaurant, Coppersmith, Dot Brewery, La Brasa and SRV. RODE’s architectural and interior designers collaborate on a wide array of project types, from corporate to hospitality and mixed use. For more information visit www.rodearchitects.com.

Images by Sarah Storrer

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Island Exterior Fabricator's plant in Calverton NY consist of eight gigantic clear span structures formerly occupied by the United States Navy and Grumman Aircraft Engineering departments. Today, instead of turning out machines of war: engines, wings, and fuselages, the plant is busy assembling the buildings and cities of the 21st century.

A frenzy of activity greets visitors as they walk onto the cavernous fabrication floor: cranes lumbering overhead, buzz saws ripping through metal, the spark and smoke of welding permeating the air, the constant banging and clamoring about of industrial production.  However, within a few moments you realize there is a very methodical assembly line at work here. Carefully planned and executed under controlled, optimized conditions, pieces of buildings slowly make their way across the floor transformed from piles of raw materials to finished product ready for installation. Mistakes and waste are minimized and labor time is maximized making this method of building a rapidly growing approach in the construction world.

There are trade-offs: this project trajectory requires a large amount of up front coordination work, and the system is difficult to adjust once in the field. However, just as automation and manufacturing shaped the way consumers buy and use products, so too are they beginning to dramatically alter the way we shape the cities of tomorrow.

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Two of RODE's restaurant projects, Southern Proper and Buttonwood, have been featured in Boston.com's "New Restaurants Local Chefs Are Excited About."

Southern Proper features an open kitchen, swathed in reclaimed light pine wood, filled with personally curated tchotchkes, and contains lots of character-filled touches — like a bar-front wrapped in tin from an antique movie theater. Besides the vaulted ceiling, there are lots of large windows letting in plenty of sunlight for a bright, airy atmosphere.

At Buttonwood, in  the dining room, one wall is covered in wood paneling, the banquettes in dark blue pleather. Its gleaming wood floor gives way to black and white tiles on at the larger bar area. A miniature brass bust of Roosevelt sits atop the bar where people are encourage to eat and mingle.

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