Judy Dixon Included in CRBJ's 2021 Architects Power List

This year’s statewide Architects Power List curated by the editorial board of the Charleston Regional Business Journal and SC Biz News includes our own Judy Dixon. In their words, “Our editorial team analyzed industry data and considered the individuals who demonstrated vision and action in serving their profession, as well as the professional excellence that commitment provides to our places of work and life.

After graduating from Virginia Tech in 1993 with a Bachelor in Architecture, Judy Dixon started her career a year later as an intern with SMHa, Inc., rising through the ranks to become a principal in the firm. She left the firm to join forces with her husband, first with Rush3 Product Design Studio and in 2014, she officially joined Rush Dixon Architects. Dixon has built a diverse portfolio, with projects that include the Daniel Island Recreation Center, Firefly Distillery and Santee Cooper’s Camp Hall Village. A registered architect in South Carolina, Dixon also is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design accredited professional by the U. S. Green Building Council. Throughout her career, she has served in a variety of leadership roles, including on the board of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and as chair of Leadership Charleston. She also supports organizations including the ACE Mentors, Turn90, Fresh Future Farm and the Paul R. Williams Student Scholoarship. The latter honors the first licensed African-American member of the American Institute of Architects by supporting African-American architecture students.”

2021 ARCHITECTS POWER LIST HONOREES (in alphabetical order)

Robby Aull, SSOE | Stevens & Wilkinson

Louis P. Batson III, Batson Associates Inc.

Cindy Benjamin, LS3P

Joel Carter, Jumper Carter Sease Architects

Keith M. Clarke, MCA Architecture Inc.

Judy Dixon, Rush Dixon Architects

Douglas E. Fraser, JHS Architecture

Scott Garvin, Garvin Design Group

Myles Glick, Glick Boehm and Associates

Tara B. Hile, SHLTR Architects, Inc.

Scott Johnston, Johnston Design Group

C. Dinos Liollio, Liollio Architecture

Margie Longshore, SMHa, Inc.

Marc Marchant, LS3P

Heather Mitchell, Boudreaux

Doug Quackenbush, Quackenbush Architecture

Ron Smith, McMillan Pazdan Smith

Michael W. Spivey, Spivey Architects Inc.

Gable Stubbs, SGA | NarmourWright Design

J. Michael Taylor, DP3 Architects Ltd.

Marc Warren, Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood

Edward T. Zeigler Jr., Craig Gaulden Davis, Inc.

15 Years | Rush Dixon Architects

As we mark our 15th year in business, we wanted to thank all of our clients, colleagues and mentors for being a part of our story. We consider it a great privilege and responsibility to design for our community and neighbors. In honor of this and in recognition of the opportunities we have been given, we have made a donation to each of these local non-profit clients; please check out their missions and programs if you are considering supporting the Charleston community.

One80 Place

Mission: Ending and Preventing Homelessness

35 Walnut Street, Charleston, SC 29403

Click here for their website.

Their mission to end and prevent homelessness in Charleston with a vision where everyone is housed. In 1984, community leaders came together to start a shelter to help the growing number of people who were homeless. Over three decades later, what started as a small effort to address an emergency need grew to be largest provider of homelessness services in Charleston. “While we are bigger than we used to be, we are local, regionally focused, and cater to our clients one person at a time, one family at a time.” Since the start of the pandemic, 134 individuals (including children, women, men and Veterans) have been moved into homes of their own. In addition, One80 Place tested all of the staff and clients in the shelter last month with everyone testing negative - a satisfying demonstration of their social distancing and sanitation protocols at work.

Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center

Mission: Prevent Abuse, Protect Children and Heal Families.

1061 King Street Charleston, SC 29403

Click here for their website.

Child abuse does not define who a child is or who they will become. At the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center, children and families have a safe, child-friendly place to turn when there is a concern about abuse. Primary services include providing immediate support and assistance to children and their families through forensic interviews, medical examinations and mental health assessments. Dee Norton also provides therapy to child victims and their families where appropriate. Dee Norton is a community-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and coordinates with more than 30 partner agencies in the Charleston community to take appropriate action and deliver the critical services needed for the child and family. Since 1991, Dee Norton has helped over 29,000 children and their families.

East Cooper Community Outreach

Providing safety net services to our low income neighbors, while empowering them to create a better future for themselves, their families, and our communities.

1145 Six Mile Road Mount Pleasant, SC 29466

Click here for additional information on their website.

Founded as an emergency relief effort in 1989 after the devastation from Hurricane Hugo, East Cooper Community Outreach (ECCO) has since grown into a permanent resource for the community in need with three main program areas: Basic Needs, Health Services and Empowerment. Thousands of families a year receive emergency assistance for food, clothing, household furnishings, financial aid, and have access to dental care, medical care, prescription assistance, counseling, and educational opportunities like financial literacy classes, computer skills training, job readiness workshops. These services are all enhanced through personal interaction with staff who provide individualized support for each client, ongoing case management, and emphasize accountability and achievement.

Camp Hall Village | Nature + The Machine

Santee Cooper’s Camp Hall is a next generation commerce park where “people, nature and productivity connect.” At the heart of Camp Hall is the Village Center, a thriving collection of small businesses and conveniences designed to help balance work with the necessities of daily life - connecting the workforce to everyday errands, to nature and to each other. Currently the master-planned park commerce park includes:

• Wi-Fi connectivity

• Conveniences are planned to include food, a convenience store, healthcare, dry cleaning, gas, banking, a fitness center, a fire station and EMS as well as other employee services

• Planned amenities including an event lawn/park and a playfield

• Trails for exploration, exercise and connectivity

• Spaces to gather and celebrate

With state-of-the-art manufacturing (home of Volvo USA) in a setting of vast natural beauty, the design concept of “NATURE + 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.

The “Avian Pavilion” (shown below) 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.

Concept design for the Camp Hall Avian Pavilion

Concept rendering

“Nature is a self-made machine, more perfectly automated than any automated machine. To create something in the image of nature is to create a machine, and it was by learning the inner working of nature that man became a builder of machines.” Eric Hoffer

Product Design by Architects

Attending architecture school is often regarded as the foundation for establishing a rigorous design process. This can then be applied not only to designing buildings, but other disciplines of varying scales such as urban design, graphic design, furniture design or in Rush’s case, product design. We have always drawn inspiration from architects who toggle between such scales or disciplines. Some of our favorites include:

Aldo Rossi (1931 - 1997) 

An Italian architect and leader of the postmodern movement, Rossi was known for built works of architecture, theory, drawing and product design. We first saw his “Il Conico" tea kettle and “La Conica" espresso coffee maker for Alessi and knew it was no ordinary design.  

Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (1887 - 1965) 

“Le Corbusier” as he was known as, was an architect, designer, painter, urban planner and writer. Notable works of architecture include the Villa Savoye and the Ronchamp chapel and collaborations with his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, led to several iconic pieces of modern furniture that we have all likely seen, such as the sling chair. 

Philippe Starck (1949) 

French architect, Philippe Starck is known for cultural venues and hotels, also designed yachts and furniture. The iconic juicer is our favorite.

Rush3 Product Design Studio

Truth be told, a slow economy, a goal set 10 years prior, and a chance encounter with a vintage bottle opener led to the creation of Rush3 Product Design Studio in 2011.  Local branding company Slant Media made the process of starting a product design company including logo creation, web site development and product branding fun and extremely exciting.  The next several years were a mixture of architecture and product design - using the design process to jump scales and functions. Some highlights of the Rush3 Product Design Studio chapter…

Kebo® - One Handed Bottle Opener

Inspired by the Theodore Low bottle opener from the 1930s, the Kebo Bottle Opener is a modern interpretation that offered better seamless function and classic styling. It was cast of stainless steel and polished to a mirror finish because it needed to feel good in your hand and be a sculptural if not architectural piece. The “Kebo®, short for “bottle key”, won the Innovation Award in the ‘Handtools and Cutlery’ category at the 2012 International Home and Housewares Show. Fun times were had in research and development (yes, we drank a lot of beer) as well as press in Men’s Journal, Core 77, Buzzfeed, Fast Company and the Today Show. Kebo was sold at many local shops, small businesses and even Restoration Hardware and the Museum of Modern Art.

Kebo® The One Handed Bottle Opener is a 2012 International Home and Housewares Show Innovation Award winner, was featured on The Today Show and was named as one of Men’s Journal’s “Perfect Things”

Kebo Light

Anyone in the product industry knows that before long, knock-offs sprout up.  At first when a colleague suggested we do our “own knock-off” we thought it impossible to consider anything other than the pure, stainless steel original Kebo. But when attending industry trade shows we were shocked to see derivations of last show’s newest products be presented as their own fresh ideas. It’s rough out there even with trademarks and patents in place. Enter “Kebo LIght.” A different iteration of the original Kebo with a nod to light beer.  It was lightweight (made from aluminum) and available in colors so this captured a lower price point and more of an impulse buy - a bottle opener you would have on the boat or at tailgates.  

Kebo® Light offers the same elegant design extruded from lightweight aluminum making it perfect for picnics, a day at the beach or any time on-the-go.

Munch Stix®

One night when having take-out Chinese for dinner, our then 7 year old asked for chopsticks but mispronounced them saying “chomp” instead. This was a good chuckle, but then we said, what if chopsticks could actually chomp. After initial launch, a bit of a trademark hiccup had us re-brand to “Munch Stix.” We still had fun with “Chum” the shark, “Al” the alligator and “Teri” the Pterodactyl as kid-friendly chopsticks. These were a finalist for the 2013 International Housewares Association Innovation Award (Tabletop category) and made the rounds on mom-blogs including Cool Mom Picks and A-List Mom.  Retailers included kitchen and toy shops as well as the Museum of Natural History and the Georgia Aquarium. 

Munch Stix® are child-friendly chopsticks that all have mouths and munch! Made in the USA, Munch Stix® are an AmericasMart ICON Honors Innovation Award finalist, an Editor's Pick for The Gourmet Retailer and one of A-List Mom's "Toy of the Year" in 2014. Meet "Chum the Shark" who has also been endorsed by pediatric Occupational Therapist, Lindsey Biel OTR/L.

"Al the Alligator" Munch Stix® was featured in Sharon Garofalow's "Cupcakes and Cutlery" blog and named, along with his sibllings, as a 2015 Family Choice Award Winner.

"Teri the Pterodactyl" Munch Stix® was the cover girl for Fancy Food & Culinary Products Magazine in June of 2013.

Tre™ Bottle Opener

Returning to the bottle opener space (because beer) the last product Rush3 Studio designed and produced was a sculptural triple function beer opener crafted and contoured for 1) twist-off bottles, 2) pry-off bottles and 3) can tabs. We did a small run of these in 2017 mainly for client gifts and local sales. 

Released in November of 2017, TRE is a triple-function bottle opener crafted and contoured out of stainless steel for twist-off bottles, pry-off bottles and can tabs.

Certainly a great education not only in jumping design scales and function from buildings to housewares, but in dipping our toes in the product / retail sector. We have since dialed down the product design studio for now and have been focusing on architecture in the Charleston metro area. Though we still enjoy designing at a range of scales and are life-long fans of modern product design.