A New Academical Village

As construction projects reshape its landscape, the University holds fast to its Jeffersonian ideals.

Revolutionary in its time, Mr. Jefferson�s concept of an Academical Village continues to inform the University�s planning and construction efforts. As we develop the facilities necessary to sustain and enhance the quality of our programs, we are creating spaces that foster a sense of community, that support collaborative endeavors, and that inspire us to do our best work. Our aim is ambitious: to provide for future generations what Mr. Jefferson provided for us.

William Sherman�s design for a bank of faculty offices employs an energy-saving system of glass louvers.
William Sherman's
design for a bank of
faculty offices employs
an energy-saving system
of glass louvers.
Tapping a Design Resource

As it plans the $9 million expansion and renovation of Campbell Hall, the School of Architecture is drawing from a deep well of design expertise: its faculty. W. G. Clark (Architecture �65), the Edmund S. Campbell Professor of Architecture, is designing an east entry building that contains flexible exhibition space for presenting student and faculty work. William Sherman, the Mario di Valmarana Professor of Architecture and chair of the newly merged architecture and landscape architecture departments, is the creative force behind a bank of twenty-six faculty offices that will open onto the school�s studios. His design incorporates a number of energy-saving innovations, such as a wall of glass louvers that can be controlled to distribute solar heat. Warren Byrd (Architecture �78), the Merrill D. Peterson Professor of Landscape Architecture, is designing exterior features, including a promenade that connects the school to Rugby Road. All are working on their projects in coordination with SMBW Architects of Richmond, led by Will Scribner (Architecture �71). Peter Waldman, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Architecture, and his students collaborated with other faculty members to design the Eric Goodwin Passage, one of the first components of the Campbell Hall addition to be constructed. The outdoor classroom space is named for an architecture student who died in his final year of study.

The sunlit reading room is among the new features in the renovated Charles L. Brown Science and Engineering Library.
The sunlit reading room
is among the new features
in the renovated Charles
L. Brown Science and
Engineering Library.

NEWLY COMPLETED PROJECTS
This past year saw the opening of buildings that meet essential needs in the University�s intellectual life. These include the Science and Engineering Library in Clark Hall, now transformed into an ideal information resource. Combining comfortable furnishings, spacious and sunlit reading areas, and the latest technology, the renovated library has quickly become one of the most popular places to study on Grounds, attracting more than 2,000 users a day. On October 1, 2004, the Board of Visitors named the library in memory of Charles L. Brown (Engineering �43), the former chairman of AT&T, in recognition of a $5 million endowment gift from Mr. Brown�s wife, Ann Lee Saunders Brown. She also endowed the electrical engineering department in his honor.

Another new library is equally forward looking, even as it connects us to the past. Made possible by a combination of state dollars and support from generous benefactors, the complex housing the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature, and Culture and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library opened its doors as the 2004�2005 session began. Adding a handsome new edifice and landscaped plaza to the historic heart of the University, the building stands adjacent to Alderman Library and only hints at the abundance of treasures (and space) inside. Some 58,000 square feet of the facility is underground, providing a secure and climate-controlled environment for the University�s priceless rare books and manuscripts, as well as a 190-seat auditorium.With half-round windows that hark back to the Jeffersonian anatomical theater that once stood nearby, the aboveground portion offers exhibition galleries, study areas for visiting scholars, and seminar rooms.

A facility eagerly anticipated by students is the recent addition to the Aquatic and Fitness Center near Scott Stadium. Its new gymnasium borrows some of the best features from the oldest continually operated athletics facility on Grounds, the eightyyear- old Memorial Gym. Like its venerable ancestor, the AFC�s 46,500-square-foot expansion contains three basketball courts ringed by an elevated track.

Other projects have enhanced the beauty, safety, and accessibility of the University for pedestrians. The new Goodwin Bridge, an elevated walkway spanning Emmet Street near University Hall, is the first part of a planned system of pathways linking the Central Grounds to the North Grounds. Named by the Board of Visitors in February to recognize the leadership and generous support of outgoing member William H. Goodwin, Jr. (Darden �66), and his wife, Alice T. Goodwin, the bridge crosses one of Charlottesville�s busiest thoroughfares. In April the board also named the Darden School complex the William H. Goodwin, Jr., Grounds.

Farther south on Emmet Street, pedestrians will discover an aquatic feature new to the University landscape, the 1,000 feet of Meadow Creek that was brought to the surface in the Dell, ending in a one-acre pond between Lambeth House and Ruffner Hall. Bordered by sidewalks and mulched paths, and ornamented with native plants, the pond is part of a larger effort to manage storm water in a more environmentally sensitive way.

Ruffin Hall, a $16.7 million facility for studio art, will contain spaces designed for work in specific media.
Ruffin Hall, a $16.7 million facility for studio art, will
contain spaces designed for work in specific media.

PROJECTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Beside towering cranes and a mountain of fill dirt, the John Paul Jones Arena is quickly taking shape on Massie Road. Already visible is the horseshoe configuration of the 15,000 seats it will provide for Virginia basketball fans and others attending games and special events there. Encompassing practice courts, a weight room, a dining facility, coaches� offices, a 1,500-car parking structure, and a large public plaza, the $129.8 million facility is on schedule for completion in 2006.

David
David Neuman, formerly of Stanford,
is the new architect for the University.
Guiding Our Growth

As the expansion of the Grounds continues, it will benefit from the experienced eye of David Neuman, the new architect for the University. Formerly architect and associate provost for planning at Stanford University, he will play a key role in ensuring that the University�s physical growth supports a cohesive academic community and meets high standards for design and functionality. In this regard, he builds on the work of his predecessor, Samuel A. "Pete" Anderson III (College �55), who guided the design of almost $1 billion in construction and helped shape the University�s current master plan before retiring in June 2003. Mr. Neuman�s office will also oversee the University�s historic preservation efforts, including the development of a master plan for using and protecting all of our historic buildings and landscapes

The 126,000-square-foot addition to the University Hospital will be finished in the spring of 2005, and another 150,000 square feet of renovations included in the $89.6 million project will be completed in 2006. Also under construction is Wilsdorf Hall, the $41.6 million building that will serve the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and other areas of the Engineering School involved in nanoscopic research and design. It also is on track for a 2006 completion date. Nearby on Alderman Road, the 62,000-square-foot, $22 million replacement for the Observatory Hill Dining Hall will be ready to welcome students in early spring 2005.

Among projects started this year is the long-awaited, $7.7 million renovation of Fayerweather Hall, a late-nineteenthcentury gymnasium that later became the home of the art history and studio art programs. Once refurbished and recon- figured, the neoclassical building will be devoted entirely to art history. It is part of the Arts Grounds Project, which also includes Ruffin Hall, a new studio art building now in design. Among other upcoming projects are the $51 million renovation and expansion of Rouss Hall for the Commerce School and the $7 million upgrade of Cocke Hall for Arts and Sciences.

 

Newly Completed
Among completed projects are, clockwise from top left, the Special Collections complex with its spiral staircase, the Dell pond, and the addition to the Aquatic and Fitness Center.

 

buildings

 


Under Construction
Projects under construction include John Paul Jones Arena and the addition to the hospital, at right.

arena