Camp Hall Village Park Pavilions

It’s coming up on two years since Rush Dixon Architects was selected as the architect and designer for Santee Cooper’s Camp Hall Village Center; since then we have helped imagine the masterplan layout, phasing approach and concept architecture for the future buildings of this “next generation commerce park.” The overarching design concept of “Nature + Machine” marries the manufacturing nature of Camp Hall’s partners (looking at your Volvo SC) with the surrounding natural preserves.

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. [Camp Hall website]

Click here for a video prepare by Seamon Whiteside capturing our building designs for the village center: https://youtu.be/utZ-tb50I-Q

Main Park Pavilion Rendering

The first structures out of the ground will be open-air pavilions located in the Camp Hall Village park. The programmatic function is to provide gathering areas, places for viewing passive play areas as well as recreational courts and fields. The architectural design language will be established in this first phase through sculptural forms articulated with geometric framework and clad in a manner that harkens to patterns found in nature. The park pavilions act as pieces of sculpture in the landscape. Origami was also an influence as demonstrated in the Main Park Pavilion ‘folded’ roof form. Collaborators ADC Engineering (structural engineering), DWG Engineering (electrical engineering), Seamon Whiteside (landscape architecture) and Choate Construction (general contractor) have proven once again to be great company to keep in bringing the first structures to life. Stay tuned for construction updates and future events.

Main Park Concept Sketch

Several shade structures will be placed throughout the park for passive play area and recreation activity viewing.

Early concept for the main park pavilion

Ruins of Glendale Mill

Our design inspiration travels are a little closer to home these pandemic days with a recent trip to Glendale, just outside of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Truth be told, it was our son who suggested the field trip to the Glendale Mill site, after researching abandoned buildings to photograph. In this case all that remains of the original cotton mill are two smoke stacks and two stair towers.

Built in the 1830s and originally called the Bivingsville Mill, this was one of SC’s most important and continuously operating mills. (Click here for a video on the history of the mill.) In 2004 a catastrophic fire destroyed the majority of the building; the remains of which and surrounding land have become a preserve thanks to Spartanburg County.

Photos by Rush David Dixon IV:

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

Charleston Modern Infill - UPDATE

This speculative infill development included three single family residences located in the Cannonborough neighborhood in downtown Charleston. The client’s desire for a modern aesthetic with durable, low maintenance materials was executed with cementitious V-groove and lap siding on a stucco base. Now two of the three residences have been completed by Zourzoukis Homes and are for sale.

Click HERE for a link to the listing and additional photos by our friends at Birchin Lane Realty.

"Designing for Life"

“The great thing about getting older is living life.” Jon Hamm

Admittedly, the term “Designing for Life” is quite aspirational in terms of residential architecture because it assumes we know every current and future client need at a single moment in time. Rather, we use the term as a way to approach the design of a home while looking ahead to certain or likely scenarios in an effort to provide an inspiring environment to age in place.

Before we put pen to paper we, of course, spend time listening closely to our clients’ goals for their new or renovated home - how they want it to feel and look, budget and metrics such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms, etc. After capturing these programmatic pieces, we push the conversation to help clients think about bigger and perhaps, different aspects. One such conversation we are having more and more is designing and planning to age in place, or at the risk of using another aspirational term, “future proof”. This concept is certainly not new; and while waning mobility may not be a super fun thing to think about, careful design and intentional planning go a long way in adding value, ease and enjoyment in a living space.

Zero step transition from living room to outside courtyard.

To hone our perspective and approach, we recently completed the National Association of Home Builders’ Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist educational series. A welcomed aspect was the varied professional backgrounds represented in the group: product representatives, occupational therapists, builders and designers from all parts of the country offered laser focused reports from each industry. Many of the strategies have been exercised for decades and considered good practice without being labeled as “Aging In Place” and some new strategies were shared such as product offerings - all worth a little air time to keep it front of mind. Some highlights include:

• SLIDING SCALE: There is not one size fits all when it comes to designing to age in place. There are varied needs including clients with out urgent needs, clients with progressive conditions and clients with traumatic needs (short term injury or long term disability). Within each of those categories exists a different comfort level / interest in incorporating design elements. Each situation, client and budget yields a custom solution.

• VISITABILITY: Think not only about the clients’ needs, but their aging parents or friends with disabilities. If a home has even a few steps, visits from some family or acquaintances would prove difficult, cumbersome or impossible. Think about offering welcoming and safe spaces for everyone.

• OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS: For those clients who have progressing or traumatic needs, listen closely to what the healthcare providers are recommending. Often in the group discussions, those of us non-medical folks went over the top in accommodations in contrast to the OT’s approach which was usually simple and exacting to the specific challenge but sought to keep the client as active and independent as possible.

• ADAPTABILITY: Blocking - just do it. Add wood blocking at targeted locations within walls in bathrooms for future grab bars and shower seats. Other examples of adaptable design include stacking closets for future elevator, base cabinets that can be removed to accommodate a wheelchair, structural support in ceiling for future lift, size powder rooms for future showers, etc.

• BUILDING BLOCKS: Zero step entry into the home, correctly sized halls and doors, living and bedroom on ground floor, curbless or “beach entry” into shower, elevator or stacking closets for future elevator for multi-story homes, lever hardware in lieu of knobs, think about mounting heights of outlets and switches.

Beach entry into shower

Our goal as architects is to synthesize the practical and required components into inspired design that meets or exceeds our clients’ goals. Seamlessly incorporating these and other aging in place strategies into the overarching architecture direction is our ultimate plan. This is not to say that every design of ours checks every accessibility or aging-in-place box, rather we introduce the discussion and allow the client to drive the decision making. We can therefore create a built environment that allows our clients to safely enjoy their days in the place they most want to be.

“The great thing about getting older is living life.” Jon Hamm

Seabrook Island Beach Club Renovation

In collaboration with Seamon Whiteside, an award-winning landscape architecture and civil engineering firm, the design goals of this project included updated pools, deck, restrooms and a new cabana bar. Balancing zoning ordinances, design reviews, flood regulations and building code parameters, the result provides a modern amenity for this island community overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Initial concept rendering of the Cabana Bar shows a dynamic mono-slope roof and trellis system.

Construction progress photo showing the side view of the Cabana Bar.

A front view of the finished Cabana Bar with the gathering space in the foreground. [Photo: Seamon Whiteside]

Ipe scrim treatment wraps the Cabana Bar service area.

Aerial image of the renovated Seabrook Beach Club. [Photo: Seamon Whiteside]

Paul R. Williams | New Homes for Today

Continuing our study of the noteworthy African-American architect, Paul R. Williams (1894 - 1980), we have been pouring over his book published in 1946, “New Homes for Today.” The book is light on words and heavy on images which is just how us visual learners like it.

We first wrote about Paul R. Williams on the blog in June when we discovered the “Paul R. Williams Student Scholarship” organized by DesignClass. In their words, “Paul Williams kicked off a prolific career by becoming the first licensed African-American member of the American Institute of Architecture in 1923. Throughout his life he designed over 2,000 buildings in California and helped shape Los Angeles into the metropolitan city it is today. In 1957, Williams became the first African-American elected as a Fellow of the AIA. DesignClass honors the legacy of Paul R. Williams with a scholarship for African-American architecture students seeking to foster curious and creative confidence in their communities.” The scholarship provides financial assistance to African American students studying at a NAAB accredited architecture program. [As of last week, they have more qualified students than sponsors, so if you are able to contribute $500 to sponsor an African-American architecture student please contact them here. Our industry desperately needs diversification.]

While Mr. Williams had a wide multi-faceted based in Los Angeles, including the design of public buildings, working for the Navy and designing over 2,000 homes (even that of Frank Sinatra!), this book seems to focus on smaller homes, perhaps for the middle class. His words appear to approach homebuilding and designing with refreshing clarity and practicality:

“Two items for consideration face the homebuilder of today which did not confront the homebuilder of yesterday. One: higher building costs; Two: The necessity of reducing household labor to the minimum. The former can be done by skillful planning, the latter by the intelligent use of present labor-saving devices.”

He goes on discuss the merits of solar orientation, single or multi-story homes, warns against highly individualized designs as they could effect resale value and shares trends on the rumpus room (informal living area for the non-Boomers / Gen Xers reading this.) The structure of the book itself allows just two pages for each house design and includes the description, floor plan and classic-now-vintage perspective renderings. Home names like “The Flamingo” and “The Country Gentlemen” start to paint a picture of each home’s character. Our favorite is the “The Esquire”, a 2 bedroom house totaling 1,260sf with a large living room opening to a side patio and double fireplace - one indoor and one outdoor. We may want to individualize it a touch in the bathroom department, but the plan’s efficiency and architecture’s overarching modernist lines and components are a lesson in what you really need and want in a home.

His advice includes a “Do’s and Don’ts” section:

“DO arrange the rooms so that passage may be made from one part of the house to another without the necessity of going through the living room.

DON’T plan the entrance door to expose all of the living room every time the door is opened.

Antiques can be mixed with modern pieces, but it is a job for the expert rather than the amateur decorator.”

And to the question posed in the book “Can we afford an architect?” he answers “To this question there is only one answer: You cannot afford to build a home without an architect.” I do believe we would get along very well, Mr. Williams.

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.