Sonder Social Club: Architecture and Design Firm Turns the Vision of Clients Into Reality

sonder n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own...

(photos courtesy sdg Architecture/Shorelines Design Group)

Dunedin’s new Sonder Social Club is a prime example of a project that demonstrates the collaborative relationship between sdg Architecture / Shorelines Design Group (Commercial Architecture and Custom Residential and Interior Design respectively) and the Client Team.
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​Primarily a cocktail bar, Sonder also offers a creative, high quality selection of cocktail-flattering culinary delights. The new destination is the latest visionary effort from Zach and Christina Feinstein who are known for the popular Dunedin restaurants Black Pearl and the Living Room on Main.
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above: Retro glamour, yet distinctly modern

In a glowing article about Sonder Social Club in the Wednesday, October 23, 2019 Tampa Bay Times, Food Critic Helen Freund praised the excellent cocktails and food, and rated the atmosphere a 10, a high compliment for the sdg Architecture/Shorelines Design Group team.

“Olive banquettes line the room, sitting beneath a ceiling of blond wood paneling – lots of retro glamour yet still distinctly modern… That’s just one of many intriguing design gems at Dunedin’s new cocktail lounge,” said Freund. “Part of the appeal lies in the versatility that this space allows for.”
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“The bathrooms alone are worth a trip to Sonder Social Club.  Disguised as a bookcase, the burnt sienna shelves are lined with weathered volumes of the classics, vases and other knickknacks. Give that shelf a little nudge and you’re on your way to the loo.”

above: Sonder Social Club entry and outdoor seating on Douglas Ave

above: Beautiful bookcases hide a speakeasy style entry to bathrooms

Rod Collman, President of sdg Architecture, is pleased with the collaborative effort between their two firms - the lead for the project came directly to Rich Badders, President of Shorelines Design Group, the residential firm of sdg Architecture/Shorelines Design Group.

“I managed sales and design, and was the main contact for the client,” said Badders. “I did some of the drafting, then delegated jobs to the drafting team in a team spirit we have between our two firms. For Sonder specifically, I oversaw the design and facilitation of construction drawings in conjunction with Senior Draftsman John Benton.”

Badders worked with the owners and interior designer on the bar, a key visual feature of Sonder Social Club. Its curving shape embraces and softens the wall of bottles in the corner of the building while providing patrons a social view of others seated at the bar. Benton also worked directly with the Sonder team on the bookshelves, a wonderful and ingenious part of the ambiance and function of the space.

Collman was proud to be the firm’s architect to make the final review of the team’s drawings and place the seal for permitting.  “The Sonder Social Club project is great example of how a collaboration effort can be successful by working as a team with a project’s owner and their design professionals. Construction was done by Nelson Construction of Palm Harbor with their fine in-house craftsmen," said Collman.

above: Intimate and social bar and the best cocktails in town

“The spaces we design should be stimulating and relaxing for customers,” he said. “In this case, a bar or kitchen should be an enhancement to the efficiency and creativity of the bartender or the chef. Making a bathroom fun can be a memorable part of the customer experience. It is often the case that the people we meet are ‘as vivid and complex’ as we are. Our clients know what they want, and our expertise is to take their vision and turn it into reality.”

Rewritten from the original post at sdgfl.com with permission from Rod Collman, President of sdg Architecture.