Fieldhouse+ Passes Key Milestone for Success
This month, RODE Architects and Lee Kennedy Co. completed the construction of the project’s visual mockup. We recently visited the site with design leaders from the city’s planning department, and received acclaim for our attention to detailing and craft. This moment marks a key milestone for the success of the project.
Building mock-ups can be perceived to be a costly exercise, but we know that their value outweighs the upfront costs. Through the mock-up process we are able to gain crucial knowledge of how the drawings are being interpreted. It gives us the opportunity to work with the subcontractors ahead of the install, while also listening to their expertise. Furthermore, we are able to evaluate the details of different trades and materials, ensuring they work in dialog. This allows us to make crucial adjustments, finalize color selections, and confirm that the assembly is entirely aligned with our design intent.
Beyond the constructability and collaboration with the builders we are able to better understand the atmospheric qualities of the composition. The balance of material and light. This is where the project starts to come to life. Architects and designers are able to digitally represent these atmospheric effects through renderings, but even the computer can’t capture the true beauty. We will revisit the mock-up over the next few months to better understand the effects of the sun, the rain, the clouds, and light refractions. The color of the sun is different in the mornings, vs the glow of the sunset. How does the mock-up react to the snow? We can’t wait to find out! These are times that we receive unexpected joy. It is through these moments where the entire team recommits itself to the goals of the project – to make a hospitable place for our kids and their families to thrive.
The Fieldhouse+ is a multifaceted athletic, arts, and learning facility stitched in the fabric of Dorchester, Boston’s most diverse neighborhood. The project is a collaboration between the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester, The Martin Richard Foundation, and The City of Boston. It will stand as a model for inclusion, diversity, and intersections of cultures. These ideas have been the heart of the building’s concept from the very beginning, and are reflected in the details and materials that make the building. It was in this context that we evaluated every angle of the visual mockup to ensure the project's execution is worthy of the people it represents.
Stay tuned to our perspectives page for more developments on the Fieldhouse+ as well as our other exciting projects.
See you soon.
