East Cooper Community Outreach Expansion + Renovation

“Neighbors helping neighbors” is a core mission of one of Mount Pleasant’s oldest non-profit organizations. During the start of the pandemic, we had the privilege of assisting East Cooper Community Outreach reorganize their Wellness Pantry to create a safer environment and more efficient layout to better serve the growing client base. This was our first behind-the-scenes glimpse of the work ECCO provides for our East Cooper neighbors. Since then we have been able to learn how each of ECCO’s departments support the core mission and were selected to design the expansion and renovation of their existing facility in Mount Pleasant. Founded as an emergency relief effort in 1989 after Hurricane Hugo’s devastation, East Cooper Community Outreach (ECCO) now functions as a permanent resource for the community through their food pantry, dental, medical, housing and financial assistance services. An over-arching goal of the building improvements was to locate all of the organization’s services under one roof; thus a space needs programming effort was critical to exploring how best to redesign the existing building and add on. The final design provides a total of 16,200sf and a new porte cochere. The existing ‘Lowcountry vernacular’ architectural aesthetic of the existing building was continued in the renovations but with a fresh color scheme to mark this new chapter for ECCO. Click here for an interview with ECCO’s Executive Director, Stephanie Kelley.

A new porte cochere or covered drive will allow clients, volunteers and donors to be protected during daily interactions.

Discussions with staff members resulted in the consolidation of the medical and dental departments to create a single “Health Services” wing (in purple) as well as the importance of consolidating the multiple entrances into a single main entry door where every client is received and personally assisted with their needs.

The existing facility, shown above, was built in 2002 and expanded in 2008.

A Groundbreaking Ceremony was held on April 10, 2024.

General Contractor: Harbor Contracting

Civil Engineering: Seabrook Engineering

Landscape Architecture: The Tomblin Company

Architecture: Rush Dixon Architects

Structural Engineering: ADC Engineering

MPE Engineering: Charleston Engineering

Interior Design: Form + Function

ServisFirst Bank - Summerville

One of the projects we have the good fortune to be a part of is the adaptive reuse of a mid-century retail building into Servis 1st Bank’s latest branch location. Servis 1st happens to be our own bank which brings a rare and welcomed full circle moment to providing architectural services. Some of our other favorite aspects of this downtown Summerville project include:

• Servis 1st’s reinvestment in the Town of Summerville’s historic downtown fabric by giving a vacant corner building a new activated chapter.

• Leveraging the existing road and utility infrastructure.

• Reuse of an existing building thus preventing demolition and sending building materials to landfills.

• Receiving support from the Town of Summerville’s Design Review Board on the proposed design improvements.

The existing building at the corner of North Cedar and W. 3rd North Street in downtown Summerville was previously used as a multi-tenant retail building primarily addressing North Cedar street. To increase the visibility and welcome customers, a corner porch element was added along with additional windows to provide natural light and align with the programmatic use. Aesthetically, the exterior improvements take cues from the building’s mid-century vintage. Vertical slat installations for sun screening and a fresh coat of paint round out the exterior changes.

General Contractor: Harbor Contracting

Site Planning: Bowman Engineering

Structural Engineering: ADC Engineering

MPE Engineering: Charleston Engineering

Architecture + Interiors: Rush Dixon Architects

Treetide Office Building

The design approach for this 11,000sf office building responded to the historic 49” Live Oak tree on the property, both literally and figuratively. The “L” shape footprint wraps the tree allowing for a strong visual connection for the building occupants and a passive outdoor gathering area under its limbs. The building facade explores repetition of understory trees through the repeating brick pilasters and weaves abstract patterns and textures of bark and leaves into the detailing.

Aiding in the study of biophilic design, the prominent tree on the property served as the main driver of decisions related to the site design, landscape architecture and building design. An effort was made to ensure that the building and its occupants be able to engage with the tree in a meaningful way. This engagement began with a metaphor of the canopy trees and the understory trees. As the proverbial understory trees, the building attempts to embody patterns, textures, rhythms, and filtered light as a way to connect the building and those inside to the natural landscape while preserving the historic tree.

The resultant design evokes a solidness and sturdiness as well as vast amounts of glass allowing all of the interior workspaces to be visually connected to the outdoors. Chevron details in between the brick pilasters are derived from patterning found in nature while wood elements bring a warmth to the structure.

General Contractor: Harbor Contracting

Civil Engineer: Seabrook Engineering

Landscape Architecture: The Tomblin Company

Architecture: Rush Dixon Architects

Structural Engineering: ADC Engineering

MPE Engineering: Charleston Engineering

Dayfield Park Buildings A + B

Dayfield Park is a soon-to-be, modern day office park and commercial destination in the award-winning Nexton Community, in Summerville, SC. The design approach for these two commercial buildings is rooted in strong massing, innovative detailing and creating an inspiring place to work and do business. The development will ultimately include multiple buildings by several local architects (like our friends at Bello Garris) creating a varied interpretation linked by the same departure points: relevant and marketable commercial spaces, innovative yet locally inspired architecture and connecting the buildings with the thoughtful site design focusing on outdoor gathering areas for patrons and workers.

The project was subject to the Nexton community design guidelines which prioritize the following:

• Architecture, land planning and landscape drawn from local and regional traditions but look to the future regarding specific design.

• A commitment to sustainable design focused on protecting what we are here to enjoy and the creation of an overall healthier living environment.

• Architecture - purposeful building designs that incorporate new and innovative building materials, systems, technologies and architectural expressions.

• Use materials in innovative and unexpected ways.

• Use clean, simple shapes in both massing and details.

• Emphasize the relationship and flow between indoor and outdoor environments.

View of Dayfield Park B from the central gathering space

So what is a modern interpretation of a suburban office park? Today’s workforce wants to be connected to multiple uses, amenities, food + beverage options and outdoor space. Outdoor space can be passive, specific or flexible for all ages, uses and times of day; this also provides the ownership with an amenity to use for special events if desired. The blending of inside and outside is a strategy to allow patrons and workers to feel connected to the outdoor environs. Sidewalks and bike parking are important to offset the needed parking and vehicular pathways. During our research we found this interesting article from the New York TImes “The Suburban Office Park, an Aging Relic, Seeks a Comeback” which speaks to some lessons developers and designers could learn from the past. (The 80s might have been great for some things but not urban planning.)

View of Dayfield Park A from office park interior

The architecture for the buildings cosigns a minimalist approach with materials familiar to the area. Exterior materials include a modified board and batten wall system with varied batten spacing, cypress wood accents for warmth and standing seam metal roof panels for durability on the high slope areas. Angling the walls at the building’s entrances create a dynamic experience and covered areas. Special thanks to our clients for allowing us to be a part of this endeavor and the design team members we collaborated with:

Site Design: Seamon Whiteside

Structural Engineering: ADC Engineering

Mech, Elec, Plumbing Engineering: Charleston Engineering

Branding: Obviouslee

View of Dayfield Park B from the central gathering space

Brighton's Court at Nexton

The vision for Brighton’s Court, a pair of commercial buildings on Brighton Park Boulevard in the Nexton community, is to create a welcoming retail and office environment through deliberate architecture and site planning. The buildings engage the street and benefit from a central courtyard gathering area envisioned to have specialty trees, seating, and catenary lights to create an inviting outdoor room for employees and patrons.

The general architectural direction is informed by the client’s neighboring building, Coastal Fertility Specialists, and strives for clarity in form, varied textures, and engaging entrances and spaces. The buildings are “book-matched” along the courtyard axis and are massed so that the outer ends of the buildings are weighted “bookends” to the overall composition. The heavy masonry forms gradually erode toward the courtyard, enhancing the connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces. Composite wood and glass becomes more prevalent toward the courtyard emphasizing this gradient concept.

This project is under the purview of the Nexton Design Committee and thus their design manual. Per the architectural guidelines, “Garden offices should combine materials thoughtfully and offer an opportunity to explore and blur the boundaries between discrete inside and outside experiences. The temperate climate should be exploited through development of exterior spaces. Forms and architectural devices should be developed to emphasize the human scale of these workplaces.”

Project Team

• Harbor Contracting - General Contracting

• Empire Engineering - Civil Engineering

• ADC Engineering - Structural Engineering

• Charleston Engineering - Mechanical, Electrical + Plumbing Engineering

• Belk Lucy: Leasing Agent

Bird’s eye view of the two “book-matched” buildings and central courtyard.

Diagram showing the gradient concept For building massing from heavy to light - blurring the line between inside and outside

Ode to the Sample Panel

Sample panels are condensed, down-scaled versions of the building under construction showing all of the materials, components and critical details and are often a requirement of the jurisdiction or design review board. While there is an up-front cost associated with them, we feel this is a great investment in the success of the building's execution by front-loading the conversations about sequencing, specifications and quality of craftsmanship. Pictured above is our sample panel for Santee Cooper’s Avian Pavilion at Camp Hall Village courtesy of Choate Construction. Hat tip to our friends ADC Engineering for the collaboration.

Conceptual rendering of the Avian Pavilion.

More about Camp Hall Village:

Santee Cooper’s Camp Hall is a next generation commerce park where “people, nature and productivity connect.” With state-of-the-art manufacturing in a setting of vast natural beauty, the design concept of “Nature and the Machine” permeates the built environment. Like the vehicles and machines produced in Camp Hall, the Architecture is intended to embody precision, sleekness and innovation. With bird protection and awareness as a major focus, the architecture likewise found its inspiration. The building forms are abstract interpretations of the patterns, colors, and figures found in native species. For more about our design work at Camp Hall Village click here.

Avian Pavilion at Camp Hall Village

Santee Cooper’s Camp Hall is a next generation commerce park where “people, nature and productivity connect.” With state-of-the-art manufacturing in a setting of vast natural beauty, the design concept of “Nature and the Machine” permeates the built environment. Like the vehicles and machines produced in Camp Hall, the architecture is intended to embody precision, sleekness and innovation. With bird protection and awareness as a major focus for Camp Hall, the architecture likewise found its inspiration. The building forms are abstract interpretations of the patterns, colors, and figures found in native species. The “Avian Pavilion” hovers over the lake greeting visitors with outspread wings, encouraging visitors to take refuge from the sun, birdwatch, and learn more about Camp Hall’s mission.

This month we are finalizing the detailing and engineering discipline coordination to bring this vision to life. Special thanks to our talented collaborators:

Structural Engineering: ADC Engineering Consultants

Electrical Engineering: DWG Engineering

Civil / Landscape Architecture: Seamon Whiteside

General Contractor: Choate Construction

Exploded axonometric of the Camp Hall Village’s Avian Pavilion

Studies for RGBW lighting options

Conceptual site layout of the Avian Pavilion access centered on future Training Centers for Camp Hall Village

Firefly Distillery | Good Times. Great Spirits.

When we began the design for Firefly Distillery’s new facility, the first step was to visit their existing distillery and tasting room on Wadmalaw Island, SC to learn their history, better understand their brand, see their process, and sample some spirits. (Spoiler alert: they’re good.) Before putting pen to paper, it was important for us to know how Firefly started, where they are going, how they differentiated themselves in the industry and thus what functional spaces and visitor experiences to help create within the architecture.

The next couple of years included distillery research (see our Distillery Homework blog), design iterations and construction. The new facility opened in February 2020 and enjoyed a few weeks of hosting a record breaking number of visitors before the pandemic dialed down indoor gatherings. Firefly was able to pivot their distilling efforts to produce hand sanitizer to meet the moment and are now able to safely host visitors at the outdoor courtyard, tastings on the porch and socially distanced outdoor concerts.

Highlights of our research and how it dovetailed into our design

Firefly is a locally owned, family business who was one of the South Carolina Lowcountry’s best kept secrets until their inspired collaboration with the neighboring Charleston Tea Garden yielded ‘Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka’. Ever since, they have enjoyed a national audience and are a destination for tours, tastings and events. Therefore the building program included a gift shop, distillery, bottling line, lab, a tasting room, spirits retail section and multiple places for events (weddings, receptions, smaller meetings and outdoor concerts.)

The Firefly brand is southern, approachable, and laid back in the best way possible; think sitting on your porch with a drink in your hand, friends nearby and bluegrass playing in the background. This told us that while this will be a brand new, code-compliant facility, there should be moments of patina and casualness. Specialty craftspeople really brought the ‘soul’ into this new building. Shout out to coppersmiths, Khalima Lights for their handmade light fixtures, Limelight for the signage installation, Gil Shuler for the branding graphics and Lowcountry Case + Millwork for sourcing the reclaimed wood and executing our barrel stave design.

The Firefly folks, while innovative and forward-thinking, are also nostalgic and rustic with a side order of DIY. This inspired us to deconstruct wooden bourbon barrels in the back of our studio and incorporate them into the bar and light fixture designs as well as source reclaimed wood for paneling and metal roofing from a former Firefly structure as an interior accents.

The tasting bar design was born from deconstructing wooded barrels and alternating the position resulting in a varied texture and color rooted in distillery life. Bar counter is a custom copper fabrication. Beyond the bar is the spirits retail display where visitors can purchase bottles. Custom display / cabinetry designed by Rush Dixon Architects and crafted by Lowcountry Case + Millwork.

Copper nails make up the Firefly logo behind the check out counter. (Shout out to Limelight Signs for the many, many, many hours of hammering to get this effect.)

The gift shop greets visitors with a soaring, reclaimed wood clad vaulted space.

The day we discovered Khalima Lights, a local husband and wife team that handcrafts custom light fixtures, was a good day. Located on Wadmalaw Island, they produced all of the specialty lighting. Shown here are deconstructed barrel stave “clouds” designed by Rush Dixon Architects with Khalima’s Waycaster pendant and Edison bulbs.

The gallery where tour groups gather to begin the guided distillery tour, showcases Firefly Distillery’s history and process. Gil Shuler and Limelight were the MVPs of the info graphics and execution.

The distillery and tank room where the magic happens. Special thanks to Vendome Copper and Dalkita.

After the distillery tour, visitors are invited to a tasting bar to sample spirits of their choice. The back bar was designed to allow for the current Firefly spirit products to be displayed. Reclaimed metal roofing and wood was utilized to provide a rustic feel.

Close up of the spirits retail display which needed to be locked down during events. Rolling barrel stave screens slide to secure the products while maintaining visual connection.

We don’t know much, but we do know how to keep good company. See below for some of the all-star collaborators and craftspeople:

• Seamon Whiteside: Civil Engineering + Landscape Architecture

• ADC Engineering: Structural Engineering

• Charleston Engineering: Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Fire Protection Engineering

• Dalkita: Distillery Consultant

• Trident Construction: General Contractor

• Gil Shuler: Graphic Design + Branding

• Limelight Custom Sign Company: Signage

• Khalima Lights: hand-made specialty lighting

• Lowcountry Case + Millwork: interior millwork including tasting bars, spirits retail display, reclaimed wood paneling and barrel stave details.

• Chris Smith Photography: All photographs