Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio is an architecture and interior design practice recognized for its expertise in a variety of fields related to architecture and construction. Established in 2005, the principal designers have worked closely together for nearly three decades, and the firm houses around 100 talented professionals today. Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio are known for establishing strong relationships with their clients and have been praised by clients for their accuracy, attention to detail and expertise in their work. They offer a wide range of services like master planning, architecture, interior design, and execution of a wide range of project types including mixed-use, hospitality, multi-family residential, corporate office, and senior living projects. They have worked on notable projects in North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Arizona, among other states like Canada and China.
Here are some of their notable works.
1. Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando
Location: Orlando, Florida
Client: Universal Studios
Type: Hospitality
Status: Built
Winner: Engineering News-Record: 2015 Top 50 Starts in the Southeast
This is a Caribbean-inspired resort hotel and conference centre by Universal Studios Orlando. Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio provided full architectural design and documentation services, interior design for a variety of spaces, security design, audio-visual design and also structural and MEP engineering services. One of the most popular features of this resort is a river pool that cascades down a waterfall slide and culminates in a collection of waterfalls that empty into a lagoon where there are ferry boats to take guests to the parks. The design also has recreated remnants of Caribbean sugar mills and a waterwheel to enhance the island theme of the resort. Most of the hotel rooms are also provided with a view of the water or the theme park, with the cascading water. The resort also has other essential as well as unique services well-provided like a full-service restaurant, a pool bar, a fitness centre, a children’s play area, a lobby bar, a Caribbean market café, ballrooms and ample parking spaces.
2. 77 12th Street
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Type: Residential
Status: Built (2013)
Winner: Urban Land Institute – Atlanta: 2014 Award for Excellence
77 12th Street is a 23-storey tower comprising 330 apartments which include studio and one and two-bedroom apartments. Located in a part of Midtown with great connectivity, 77 12th Street has an efficient combination of luxury and necessity. These apartment homes have floor to ceiling windows and walkout balconies which provide exquisite views.
The residential structure has been designed along with a large amenity plaza which provides a variety of outstanding amenities including a saline swimming pool with waterfall, cabana lounges, outdoor fireplaces, private grilling and entertainment areas, poolside sports bar and lounge, cybercafé, media/library lounge, conference centre, state-of-the-art fitness centre and other necessary facilities like parking, security, etc. The tower has rooftop recreational facilities which have spaces for exercising as well as seating areas which offer breathtaking views of Midtown and Downtown Atlanta.
3. Jackson Healthcare
Area: 20.9 acres
Location: Alpharetta, Georgia
Client: Jackson Healthcare
Type: Office Building
Status: Built (2019)
Winner: Southeast Award of Merit (2nd Place) Office/Retail/Mixed-Use Category
Jackson Healthcare is one of the USA’s top healthcare staffing firms. In 2017, this campus was expanded and the RJTR was appointed for the programming, master planning, architecture, and interior design services for this $100 million expansion to include a new eight-story office tower, along with amenities, advanced-facility medical clinic and a separate six-story parking structure. The existing structures have been designed to be reminiscent of Italian Renaissance architecture. RJTR was asked to create a 21st Century workplace within architecture that authentically matches the existing feel of Italy, which they achieved by including elements such as an Italian-inspired piazza, an Italian streetscape facades and trellis, and tile roof-covered parking spaces. The new office building features a new spacious conference centre, catering kitchen, and museum. The amenity building is designed to evoke the Roman Colosseum which grabs attention at the centre of the piazza. The new amenities and master plan are designed keeping in mind the comfort of the employees as well as the vision of the company.
4. Krog Street Market
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Client: Paces Properties
Type: Retail
Status: Built (2015)
Winner: Urban Land Institute – Atlanta: 2015 Award for Excellence
Located in one of Atlanta’s most historic neighbourhoods, Krog Street Market is a unique adaptive reuse project which has become an Atlanta hub. It is a west coast style food market, located in the heart of Inman Park and offers a gathering place for eating and socializing in a re-purposed 1920s warehouse that was once part of the historic Atlanta Stove Works.
RJTR revitalized the warehouse to enhance its new use as a market while respecting its original sense of historic authenticity. The market provides comfortable and interactive stalls and seating areas, opening the warehouse up to the street, and restoring vast skylights in the central hall. Design elements like distressed organic wood and original steel beams enhance the warehouse’s industrial roots and make it feel like an authentic piece of Atlanta’s history. This bustling space has also become a destination for bikers, walkers and joggers from all around Atlanta.
5. Somerby Senior Living Community
Location: Sandy Springs, Georgia
Area: 248,510 g. sq. ft
Client: Dominion Partners
Type: Senior citizen living
Status: Built
Winner: American Society of Interior Designers: 2017 Georgia Chapter Design Excellence – Healthcare over 10,000 SF – Gold
This campus, which provides assisted living, memory care, and independent living in Sandy Springs, was developed from master planning to interior design and FF&E services by RJTR. The three buildings (Independent Living, Assisted Living and Communal buildings) have been designed to give a five-star-hotel-like experience for all who live, visit and work there. The architectural style is reminiscent of neo-classical structures of the past and adds to the grandeur and timelessness of the experience. The central Communal building is accessible to both others and houses the healthcare area which has a state-of-the-art wellness centre complete with physical therapy, fitness gym, yoga room and an indoor heated pool. Spacious rooms, hospitality-like staff-only, undisclosed corridors and double-sided service elevators played a key role in creating comfortably accessible spaces. This connector building is also where the bistro cafe, mailroom, main kitchen and formal dining rooms are situated allowing direct access for both Independent and Assisted Living Residents alike.
6. City Club of Washington, DC
Location: Washington D.C.
Area: 16000 sq. ft.
Type: Hospitality
Status: Built (2012)
Winner: 2012 Best Interior Design/Tenant Improvement Project – Engineering News-Record
Located in the heart of Washington D.C., City Club has been serving as a distinguished, private club for the political, legal and business communities since 1987. The massive project of renovation of this high-profile club was handed over to Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, who gave it a modern makeover. The building today also has a LEED Green building certification. The new additions and interior design to the already grand space transformed the club into the region’s premier social and business destination, especially known as a wedding venue. Along with casual lounging areas, the new renovation provides more spaces to create a business-friendly environment. The renovation includes many newly designed features like furniture, works of art, wine lockers, updated boardrooms, meeting rooms and media rooms and a new patio. The interior of the club features a trickling fountain, a grand stairwell with an ivory balustrade which goes around it.This makes for an excellent and iconic photo spot, especially for weddings.
7. 1010 Midtown
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Type: Residential
Status: Built (2009)
Area: 586,000 sq. ft.
Winner: American Society of Landscape Architects: 2011 Georgia Chapter Merit Award for General Design
This 35-storey tower is located in the heart of midtown Atlanta and was the first phase of 12th & Midtown, a massive four-block master-planned development in the city. 1010 Midtown also features retail spaces of over 40,000 sq. ft., restaurants and other recreational facilities.
The tower’s graceful curved shape mimics the natural form of Peachtree Street which it overlooks. This creates stunning views both inside and out, giving the apartment a dynamic form. The floor plans are designed to be spacious, along with extensive window walls that maximize panoramic views of Downtown, Midtown, Piedmont Park and more. The recreational facilities include a lush park along with a verandah to spend time below the sky, an open swimming pool, restaurants and many others to create a resort-like experience. 1010 Midtown features 425 condominiums, with abundant parking spaces for the same, and also has easy accessibility.
8. Junior Achievement’s Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Type: Institutional Interiors
Client: Junior Achievement
Status: Built
Winner:
- Urban Land Institute – Atlanta: 2015 Jury’s Award
2. American Society of Interior Designers: 2015 Georgia Chapter Design Excellence Award – Institutional – Gold Award
Junior Achievement’s Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center provides a simulated real-life environment for young students, where they can have a variety of experiences. It has two sections: JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, along with a theatre, a pre-function/reception area, meeting rooms, and offices. The interiors of this discovery centre designed by Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio enhanced the spaces provided for the children. The various zones incorporate a variety of colours, dynamics, and different textures and create spaces which help assist the simulation but also appear as designed for children. JA BizTown embodies present-day Downtown Atlanta, and is organized around the mayor’s podium in a courtyard mimicking the city’s Centennial Olympic Park, the other section, JA Finance Park is best described as a 3-D version of the board game “LIFE.” The discovery centre also includes the elements of the real city of Atlanta through the use of traditional materials and design, to enhance the experience.
9. Residences at the John Marshall
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Type: Hospitality Interiors/adaptive reuse
Client: John Marshall Hotel
Status: Built (2012)
Winner: Building Design + Construction: 2012 Reconstruction Award
The John Marshall Hotel opened in 1929 and has been the largest hotel in Virginia. Located in the heart of Richmond, it offered all the luxuries and modern conveniences and is of great historical importance. It has a cathedral doorway and grand marble stairway of led visitors up to the beautiful lobby decorated in gold and St. Genevieve marble. In 2011, the historic renovation project transformed the hotel into high-rise apartments. RJTR was appointed for architecture, interior design, structural and MEP design services for these apartments. The Residences at the John Marshall feature 238 luxurious studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments with 52 unique floor plans. The project. The interiors also largely feature marble and have been designed to suit the luxurious value of the building, along with making it suitable for modern use. A lot of the original wooden finishes were retained and repaired to add to the character of the interiors. The building has also been acknowledged as a green renovation project, using efficient and sustainable services.
10. Loews Minneapolis
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Type: Hospitality interiors
Client: Loews Hotels
Status: Built
Winner: Hospitality Design Magazine: 2016 Overall Midscale Hotel and Public Spaces
RJTR consolidated its renovation of The Loews Minneapolis Hotel by revitalizing and reconnecting the existing spaces to suit the modern times. The ground floor was made spacious by knocking down walls, and a new inviting lobby greets one as one enters due to opening up the existing restaurant and bar to the entryway. This new area becomes the “living room” of the hotel and provides a lively and intimate space where guests can relax, or choose to carry out various recreational activities. The newly designed plan allows the spaces to become much more engaging and more cohesive as a whole, connects them and becomes one that guests can truly make their own. The interiors were taken up a notch by the addition of warm and cosy spaces, along with creating an interesting meander through them, by using partitions and levels. The plush interiors use materials and decorative features like murals which further add to the luxurious experience of the hotel.
References:
- www.rjtplusr.com. (n.d.). Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, LLC Architecture and Interior Design. [online] Available at: http://www.rjtplusr.com/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
- Bizjournals.com. (2022). [online] Available at: https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2014/09/03/gables-residential-oglethorpe-building-mixed-use.html.
- Datanyze. (n.d.). RULE JOY TRAMMELL RUBIO Company Profile | Management and Employees List. [online] Available at: https://www.datanyze.com/companies/rule-joy-trammell-rubio/237666569 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
- Group, A.H. (2016). 77 12th Midtown Atlanta Apartments. [online] All Atlanta Condos | Luxury High Rise Condominiums for Sale. Available at: https://www.allatlantacondos.com/77-12th-midtown-atlanta-apartments/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
- Jackson Healthcare. (n.d.). Home. [online] Available at: https://jacksonhealthcare.com/.
- dkordic (n.d.). Home. [online] Krog Street Market. Available at: https://krogstreetmarket.com/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
- www.seniorliving.com. (n.d.). Somerby of Mobile | SeniorLiving.com. [online] Available at: https://www.seniorliving.com/senior-community/somerby-mobile-0 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
- All Atlanta Condos | Luxury High Rise Condominiums for Sale. (2015). 1010 Midtown Atlanta Condos | All Atlanta Condos. [online] Available at: https://www.allatlantacondos.com/1010-midtown-atlanta-condos/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
- Bizjournals.com. (2020). [online] Available at: https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real_talk/2015/06/atlantas-best-architecturekrog-street-market.html.
