PERSPECTIVES

Construction for RODE designed 3200 Washington, a new 76-unit mixed-use development in Egleston Sq. is underway as demolition at the site nears completion.

Egleston Sq. Main Street’s executive director Luis Edgardo Cotto said his group “was proud to support this development project. Not only will it add new businesses to the area’s commercial mix, but it also incorporates affordable rental and home ownership options while activating a site that’s been vacant for years.”

Esther Byun, Berkeley Investments development project manager overseeing this project, said, “We’re glad to see 3200 Washington gain momentum. It’s exciting to be a part of the energy here on Washington Street and we look forward to working with community leaders to enrich this neighborhood.”

Young Park, president of Berkeley Investments says he’s “thrilled that 3200 Washington is part of such an exciting neighborhood.” He adds that the project’s location is incredibly appealing. “Access to the MBTA Orange Line and the Southwest Corridor Park for biking, walking and running make this a highly desirable location for renters who want a tremendous value so close to the city of Boston, in a neighborhood that’s becoming more vibrant each day with new restaurants, stores and cafes. We’re delighted that our future retail spaces will add to this growing synergy.”

The project’s name and visual identity honor both the building’s street address and roots in Jamaica Plain, and the dynamic community in which it’s located. Says Clif Stoltze of Stoltze Design, the Boston-based design firm tapped to spearhead the project’s graphic identity, “the diversity of the neighborhood, the industrial history of the area, the colorful, artsy personality of JP, and the project’s unique integration of outdoor green space were all elements that influenced our design exploration for 3200 Washington.”

The residential project will occupy the former site of the Economy Plumbing & Heating Supply Co. and will consist of a six-story residential and commercial mixed-use building with 73 residential apartments and on-site parking for 41 vehicles. The unit mix will include 19 studios, 11 one-bedrooms, 34 two-bedrooms and 9 three-bedrooms, with a total of 9 units designated as affordable rental units for households at 70% and 100% AMI.

A separate triple-decker consisting of 3 affordable three-bedroom condominiums for households at 65% AMI will also be constructed at the site for a total of 76 units. The project will also provide 3,800 s/f of new ground floor commercial space on Washington St., adding to Egleston Sq.’s boutique retail offerings.

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For more information, read the original article at NEREJ.

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This is a panoramic view from 75 feet above ground, so a view from the future roof!

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RODE has established a unique graphic style in everything from diagrams and axons to renderings. Each drawing becomes an important piece that illustrates the building’s story, concept, and vision. More and more, we are finding these types of drawing studies to be beneficial throughout multiple phases of our design – even our building process. While sketches and massing models can be used to quickly understand a project, they tend to lose a sense of scale and reality. Diagrams and axonometric projections are very informative, displaying everything from a building’s functions to its construction. However, these drawings do not depict how the building will appear upon completion. It’s the renderings that capture a true human eye perspective of the site and the setting. At RODE, we believe it is important to create renderings that trigger emotions. We develop a wide variety of projects for many types of clientele and it’s essential to create renderings that do the same.

Renderings can be broken down into several components: the three main ones are materiality, entourage, and atmosphere.  Most successful images achieve a balance of these three key elements.

1.      Materiality:

Materials add texture and color, giving the image a sense of reality – a familiar feeling that connects what doesn’t yet exist to what could be. Depicted materials scale and fade as they retreat into the distance, and they add bold perspective lines that draw your eye into the horizon. They can reveal shadows and reflections, which create a second layer of depth showing elements from behind the main vantage point that would not otherwise be visible in the foreground.

2.      Entourage/People:

In many ways, a building’s location determines its users, but in a rendering, the entourage/people depicted are often representative of a building's location. The entourage portrays target audience for the space and its amenities on a fun and playful level, whether it is dog and family friendly or a pristine penthouse apartment. Encouraging diversity within a building’s community is also a goal for designers and this can also be seen through the entourage. The chosen figures within the rendering represent the desired audiences and the overall demographics of the area. We also use scale to play with a person’s distance within the space, manipulating the overall scale of the architecture. Including people activates a space and the more a space is populated, the more the architecture can be distorted. In this case people become the focus, allowing a real life connections and more meaningful relation to the viewer.

3.      Atmosphere:

Atmospheric perspective is one of the final layers of depth we add to a rendered scene. It conveys an overall mood and can reach viewers on an emotional level. We use tonal variations, add overlays, and tailor blurriness to portray seasons, adjust the weather, and set the time of the day. Wintry scenery creates a subdued setting that allows the viewer to focus on the building. Spring and summer renderings are quite the opposite. These are fresh and crisp, filled with bright colors that provide a lively and happy feel for the viewer. Fall can act as a combination of the two. While the leaves change and the days get shorter, the render takes on a warm, but de-saturated, appearance. We can adjust the weather as well. Snow and rain are not always the most popular weather conditions in the real world, but can produce some of the most interesting renders by depicting real life conditions. We are also able to alter the time of the day by adjusting the lighting. Day time renders convey that the space is active, full of light, and focus on how the building relates to its surrounding site; while dusk or night time renders re-direct the viewer’s focus to the building by reducing the visibility and details of the site and drawing attention to illuminated interior spaces.

Overall, renderings have an infinite capability of showing the potential of a new building. To view some of the latest RODE renderings, take a look at 3200 Washington St, 6 +14 West Broadway, and 232 Old Colon

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James Baker has updated his proposal to replace an existing Lutheran church at the Ashmont neighborhood intersection of Talbot Avenue and Argyle Street with a RODE-designed mixed-used development. The new plan calls for a 40-unit mixed-use building that could rise up to five stories on the prominent parcel, including a community space dedicated to the congregation of the existing church if they choose to continue worshipping and gathering at the site.

The 17,554-square-foot lot is known around the neighborhood as 500 Talbot Ave., although the address is 8 Argyle St. It comprises most of the southern half of a triangular block between Talbot and Welles avenues and Argyle Street a block west of the Red Line tunnel between the Shawmut and Ashmont T stations.

To learn more about this project, head to the original article at the Dorchester Reporter.

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The RODE-designed complex has started construction on 3200 Washington in Egleston Square in the Jamaica Plain-Roxbury borderlands.

The 76-unit housing complex will include 73 apartments—19 studios, 11 one-bedrooms, 34 two-bedrooms, and nine three-bedrooms—with nine of those apartments as affordable.

It will also include a new triple-decker with a trio of three-bedroom condos for households earning 65 percent of the area’s median income. There will also be 3,800 square feet of ground-floor commercial space along Washington Street.

The complex is going up on the site of the old Economy Plumbing & Heating Supply Co., and is about a 10-minute jaunt from the Stony Brook stop on the Orange Line.

Developer Berkeley Investments says that 3200 Washington is scheduled to open in early autumn 2018.

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Original article, by Tom Acitelli, can be read here.

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