Entering the town of Wildwood, the county wanted a welcoming entrance, and one that signals to visitors something about the town’s spirit. Stokes was hired to design a doo-wop sign that would be a compliment to our wildly popular boardwalk entrance sign

LOCATION:Wildwood, NJ.

COMPLETED:Summer 2020

Located at the end of the city’s primary east/west avenue, and bisecting the town’s primary beach parking location, Stokes Architecture aimed to create a new focal point for the town.  The nine foot stainless steel letters of the sign are visible to all motorists entering the city via Rio Grande Ave., and the colorful use of stamped concrete and brick paving as well as the “beach ball” bollards invite pedestrians in a friendly, playful way to enter the boardwalk.  The space also acts as a public transit stop, as visitors can take the vintage 1950’s tram car up and down the boardwalk.  These planning strategies have paid off, as the plaza has become a busy gathering place, a great photo opportunity, and a contemporary icon for the town.

LOCATION:
Wildwood, NJ.

COMPLETED:
summer 2007

Stokes was the architect and designer for the ground-up Tech Village at the Cape May County Airport. The project sits on a former WWII naval base and takes architectural cues from it's historic airplane hangar neighbors on campus.⁠ The exterior of the building is clad in composite board panels with vertical floor-to-ceiling windows weaved into the facade.

The industrial styled space exposes its structure on the interior, with glulam beams creating the warm, arched ceilings.

A second phase is currently being considered, with a Stokes-designed park/public open space between phases.

WORK:

-architecture

-interior design



LOCATION:Cape May, NJ

COMPLETED:Spring 2020



*photo credits: Matt Wargo

After 14 years in our old office, Stokes finally upgraded our home locale, taking over the entire top floor of a 12-story deco building (built in 1939) which had been altered many times over the years. In its previous iteration, the whole floor had been divided into several individual offices and, most recently, painted purple.

Stokes created an open floor plan, gutting the entire level and opening up the 360 degree views of the city to everyone. Work stations were arranged around the perimeter so that each employee has a window.

Great care was taken to give employees several unique spaces to work away from their desks. The central core of the space contains the materials library with a large, central work top, as well as a work table and pin-up space adjacent to the office lounge and kitchen.

Custom plywood furniture and wall panels were created by The Challenge Program using furniture grade birch plywood, cork tiles are strategically placed throughout the space to give impromptu pin-up space, and decor and furniture were selected to give a more comfortable, residential feel to the space in certain areas.

Honeygrow, the Philly-based fast casual food concept, wanted a headquarters and catering kitchen for their fast-growing company, and came to Stokes for the design.  Located in a formerly abandoned, non-descript warehouse in Fishtown, the space is a mix of industrial and modern elements, playing up the factory setting.  The existing factory sash windows were refurbished, and reused as glass partitions for the new executive offices.  Skylights were added, with polycarbonate light funnels piping natural light into these offices, while simultaneously diffusing it into the open air desk area. 

The layout, a mix of traditional and modern office design, incorporates many elements of interest into work areas to create a friendlier and more open work environment.  The open desk corral (with desks built by Delaware’s Challenge Program) is dotted with planters and a garden.  The added mezzanine houses a quiet library, and lounge and leisure areas are strategically placed throughout the warehouse to allow for socializing.

LOCATION:
Philadelphia, PA
COMPLETED:
Fall 2016
WEBSITE:
www.honeygrow.com

Resources for Human Development is a large non-profit organization, which administers numerous social service programs from a network of sites spread throughout ten states.   Their main office has retained Stokes Architecture to plan a 20,000 sq ft expansion, doubling the size of the existing RHD office.  Located in a large industrial building that once housed the Philco radio factory, the original office was built with an impressive sawtooth roof.   The expansion exposes the roof’s existing skylights, and arranges offices in an open plan as a series of neighborhoods, with a central street connecting the various departments.  Space is organized around a cafe and an indoor park, containing informal seating, facilitating interaction among the staff.  Numerous meeting rooms and private spaces are provided as free standing objects, most of which are glazed with polycarbonate.

LOCATION:
Philadelphia, PA
COMPLETED:
Fall 2007
WEBSITE:
https://www.rhd.org/

For the Fern Road Bandstand, Stokes created a simple meeting place and a recognizable landmark.  The simple concrete pavilion, with large “CREST” signage, gives the quieter Wildwood Crest its own identity separate from Wildwood, and its own photo-op location. 

LOCATION:
Wildwood Crest, NJ

COMPLETED:
Summer 2009

The Seamen’s Church Institute is located in an existing warehouse building located just north of Old City Philadelphia.  The new chapel, designed by Stokes Architecture serves as both a worship space for the merchant marines, and a performance space for the community.  The plan of the chapel takes its inspiration from the traditional Greek cross plan.  This arrangement allows the podium to be thrust out into the congregation, allowing a greater degree of contact between the celebrant and the worshipers.   Chairs are at a 45degree angle, allowing worshipers to see each other, and to get closer to the altar.  The formal design of the worship space takes inspiration from the ships the seamen are familiar with.  Behind the altar a large image of a ship’s side, in four sections, forms a cross.   The framing for the wood slats is inspired by the curved wood ribs of a ship, and the wood ceiling is shaped like the hold of a wooden ship, and extends down the walls to frosted glass, creating a connection between the secular and sacred spaces.

LOCATION:
Philadelphia, PA.

COMPLETED:
Spring 2009

WEBSITE:
www.sciphiladelphia.org

Talula’s Garden on Washington Square in Philadelphia is the first collaboration between restauranteurs Stephen Starr and Amy Olexy.  Conceived of as a “home garden” restaurant, the tall existing space was scaled down with a number of warm materials and texturing.  Each of the four dining spaces has an intimate, unique aesthetic.  The outdoor garden area provides an idyllic dining experience and reconnects guest with the adjacent Washington Square Park.

LOCATION:
Philadelphia, PA
COMPLETED:
Spring, 2015
WEBSITE:
www.talulasgarden.com