What Modern Design Means to Us

We are passionate about design, work hard and have fun along the way. Over the years, we have leaned more and more toward minimalism and a modernist approach to our designs while keeping eyes wide open to the environmental and built context. Add in the end user’s programmatic requirements to complete the march towards form following function. Historically, the term ‘modern architecture’ describes an architectural style lacking ornamentation and embracing minimalism, usually by incorporating the use of glass, steel and concrete. The Mid-Century Modern era emphasized bringing nature inside, a contradiction of materials and textures, bold and geometric forms among others. Modern design to us means functional, empathetic, sustainable, and edited design. Our derivation of this movement is ever changing with the needs of our clients, construction materials and sustainable strategies. We feel there is power in simplicity and continue to evolve, refine and explore with each design opportunity.

Entryway at a custom home in Mount Pleasant with floor and ceiling materials carrying through from inside to outside. Photo: Tripp Smith

The offices in Coastal Fertility Specialists’ Nexton location benefit from full height glass bringing natural light and views as well as a respite from the clinical areas. Photo: Chris Smith

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

14th Annual Chef's Potluck @ Firefly Distillery

Lowcountry Local First’s legendary ‘Chef’s Potluck’ fundraising event, which pairs Charleston area chefs with local farmers, fishermen and ranchers, will be held this year at the Firefly Distillery in North Charleston, SC. Rush Dixon Architects is delighted to be one of the sponsors for this 14th annual event which will be held on May 22. Get your tickets or register to volunteer HERE . Proceeds from the event benefit the organization’s mission to cultivate an equitable economy anchored in local ownership.

It is always exciting when worlds collide; especially when they are both forces of good in the community. In this case, Lowcountry Local First, an organization that we have been members of for years that advocates for the local economy including our small business and a wonderful client, Firefly Distillery. When we were working on the design of their North Charleston facility, in addition to the distillery, tasting room and gift shop functions, the notion of creating spaces for gatherings and events of all sizes was a priority. To see their success in hosting concerts, parties and now a signature event is exciting.

The 2022 Chef’s Potluck participating restaurants include:

• Basic Kitchen

• Butcher & Bee

• Chubby Fish

• Cru Cafe

• Delaney Oyster House

• Edmund’s Oast

• Frannie & the Fox

• FIG

• The Ordinary

• Indaco

• Jackrabbit Filly

• Ma’am Saab

• Park & Grove

• Post House

• Slightly North of Broad

• Ted’s Butcherblock

• The Grocery

• Life Raft Treats

The 2022 beverage providers include:

• Firefly Distillery

• Grassroots Wine

• Holy City Brewing

More partners will be announced in the coming weeks so check back on the LLF website for more information and to get your tickets!

North Charleston Flag Design

Earlier this year, the City of North Charleston, SC announced a public competition for the design of a new City flag in honor of North Charleston’s 50th anniversary this year. The goal was to improve upon the existing flag design, which utilizes the City’s seal, to create a less complex and more meaningful graphic. Creators were urged to review the North American Vexillological Association’s elements for a good flag design. For reference ‘vexillology’ is the scientific study of the history, symbolism, and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general. Elements to consider include:

1. Keep It Simple: The design should be enough that a child can draw it from memory.

2. Use Meaningful Symbolism: Images, colors or patterns should relate to what the flag symbolizes.

3. Use Two or Three Basic Colors: Limit the number of colors to three standard colors which contrast well.

4. No Lettering or Seals: Never incorporate writing of any kind or an organizations seal

5. Be Distinctive or Related: Avoid duplicating other flags, but use similarities to show connections

For a more animated take on the subject, one of our favorite podcasts, 99 Percent Invisible has a great episode on flag design.

Since our architectural studio is located in North Charleston and we apparently can’t pass up a design challenge, we decided to create a submission which references some of North Charleston’s history as well as a nod to the current events and future of the city. After much research and understanding that the flag could only include so many components we distilled the references into the following:

• Edges: The edges of the flag are an abstract nod to railroad tracks and the jagged shoreline of the shipyard.

• Diagonal Lines: Represent the Ashley and Cooper Rivers

• Central Circle: References Park Circle, the community and citizens of North Charleston. The white circle is dynamic; as if in rotating motion. The two halves wrapping around each other in a yin + yang fashion. Symbolic of a modern city that grapples with complex and opposing social issues: History v. Future, Natural Environment v. Development, Economic Growth v. Gentrification, Racial Equity v. Bias, Crime v. Punishment.

• Blue Color: updated from the previous flag and inspired by the SC flag, this color represents the nearby waterways and the night sky.

• Star: Depicted is the 8-pointed star of the compass, a nod to navigation and the guiding light that the North Star has provided through history. As a symbol, the North Star depicts a beacon of inspiration and hope to many. For a city it may symbolize its aspiration and guiding principles. A unifying symbol for this young and thriving city to the geographic North of Charleston.

See the 10 images below for our formal submission to the City:

Yesterday we were informed that our flag design is one of 10 finalists selected from a field of 160. Click HERE to see the 10 finalists and to provide feedback to the City.

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.

Houzz: Creating Separation in an Open Floor Plan

Our clients are avid travelers and collectors, cherishing found and curated objects so we had a some fun designing a custom display built-in that also serves an entry screen. Pictured here is the final solution building by Alka Construction in the Fulton Neighborhood in Mount Pleasant, SC.

Houzz recently included this custom solution in their article "15 Ways to Create Separation in an Open Floor Plan." Click HERE for a link to the article.

Sweetgrass Pharmacy at Carolina Park

During the first design meeting with the Owner’s of Sweetgrass Pharmacy, we discussed the architecture of the building reinforcing their existing pharmacy brand, the use of natural looking materials to provide a warm and welcoming building and the desire for a forward-looking, modern building to match the innovation that happens in their compounding lab. The property fronts Park Avenue Boulevard in Carolina Park, Mount Pleasant, which allowed for the building to hold a strong street presence with the main customer entrance, a take on the corner store entry, near the parking and drive-through lane. Materials were chosen for their warmth, texture and durability, and include Meridian Brick “Magnolia Bay” in queen size, Nichiha Vintage Wood siding in a cedar tone and Hardie Artisan V-Groove siding.

Main customer entry with an angled inset and steep canopy is a contemporary derivative of the corner store entry.

Detail view of main corner entrance with angled steel canopy.

Daytime view from Park Avenue Boulevard in Carolina Park, Mount Pleasant.

Evening view from Park Avenue Boulevard in Carolina Park, Mount Pleasant.

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.