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

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