2021 Erwin-Ramsey Fellowship Now Open

Mar 12, 2021 | Erwin-Ramsey Fellowship, Longform Stories

brwarchitects hosts a Summer Fellowship for graduate students, fourth-year and rising fourth-year undergraduate students in the School of Architecture. Named after the brwarchitects Principals’ hometowns, this fellowship aims to deepen architectural contributions to the town where the firm has worked for over 35 years.

Due to changing conditions regarding COVID-19, the 2021 Fellowship is expected to take place in late Summer 2021 and will be predominently in-person with safe social distancing and all necessary precautions.

A Sketch of Poyner Hill

Jan 6, 2021 | Staff News

Over the holiday, Principal Bruce Wardell pulled out sketches of the Poyner Hill property where he and his wife, Ginny, spent vacations as newlyweds. Back in those days, this house was the only structure (other than the coast guard station) for hundreds of yards.

After four decades, working with pen and paper (or pencil, or legos!) remains central to our creative process.

Has the pandemic lead you to any new creative hobbies?

Kurt and Whitney Recognized by AIA

Nov 18, 2020 | Awards & Press, Staff News

Brwarchitects is celebrating two accomplished individuals this November as they were recognized by the Central Virginia Chapter of the Virginia Society AIA.
BRW Principal Kurt Keesecker, AIA, was recognized by the Honors Committee as a Chapter Honors Recipient. BRW Architect Whitney McDermott, AIA, was recognized with the Young Activist in Architecture Award.

Whitney McDermott Honored by AIA Virginia

Sep 17, 2020 | Awards & Press, Staff News

We are beyond thrilled to announce that our very own Whitney McDermott has been awarded the Virginia Emerging Professional Award by AIA Virginia. This award recognizes emerging leaders for their contributions to the profession and service to the community.
Congratulations Whitney!

Food Security in Resident-Led Redevelopment

Aug 14, 2020 | Erwin-Ramsey Fellowship, Featured, Longform Stories

Our 2020 Erwin-Ramsey Fellow, Taha Suhrawardy, concludes his program with a capstone presentation. Building on the work that brwarchitects does with public housing residents in Charlottesville, Taha explored the critical role that food security plays in resident-led redevelopment.

2020 Erwin-Ramsey Fellowship Now Open

Mar 10, 2020 | Erwin-Ramsey Fellowship, Longform Stories

This three-week program will focus on a specific integrative project that contributes to Charlottesville’s affordable housing goals and will be based on the program’s curriculum as well as the ingenuity and interests of the fellow. During the program, the fellow will build relationships with residents, clients, and decision-makers in the Charlottesville housing market, while gaining a higher level of professional experience than entry-level and internship positions.

brw clients celebrate southwood and habitat

Feb 12, 2020 | Awards & Press, Longform Stories, Projects

brwarchitects’ clients at 701 Water Street hosted a special event in October to celebrate the grand opening of the newly remodeled lobby space and showcase its new resident artist. The party was also an occasion to recognize Habitat for Humanity’s Southwood Redevelopment and its Capital Campaign. The building owners, together with Manchester Capital, graciously opened the doors to a lively mix of Charlottesvillians and the night was a wonderful example of the crossover between art, architecture, and the important work of community building.

Host and emcee Jeff Hall of Manchester Capital introduced Dan Rosensweig, local President of Habitat, and illuminated the importance of the Southwood project as a model for community engagement, resident-driven planning and the goal of redevelopment without displacement. Mr. Rosensweig delved into these issues and in particular focused attention on our community’s vital need for affordable housing. The central theme of Habitat’s Core Building Operations is the Vision of “a Greater Charlottesville Community where everyone can find a decent place to live.”

restoring history on the downtown mall

Oct 23, 2019 | Projects, Featured, Longform Stories

Brwarchitects’ renovation of one of the oldest buildings on Charlottesville’s Historic Downtown Mall has become an attractive feature for locals and tourists alike. At the very beginning of this project, the exterior paint was stripped which revealed an attractive patina on the brick wall. In fact, this exterior paint was the main cause of the building’s extensive water damage throughout the years, and removing it created an immediate improvement in water infiltration.

In addition to rehabilitating the historic brick exterior, brwarchitects opened new windows in the existing 3rd Street masonry wall and removed the outdated wood façade and replaced it with a new glass and steel assembly. This contemporary intervention complements the building’s historic presence, while the addition of new oversize windows opens the interiors to the public mall.

designing for people: reflections from our summer intern

Aug 26, 2019 | Longform Stories, Staff News

As an undergraduate student in architecture coming into the office for the summer, my experience with real projects was very limited. In school, we are given only theoretical projects with no client, no budget, and very few other constraints. Students are encouraged to focus on creating beautiful, efficient, environmentally-friendly spaces; there is much less consideration for the people that would inhabit them.

This summer I got to experience a community redevelopment project in which the focus is not only on improving the living conditions for the residents but also including them in the planning process and giving them a voice for the future of their neighborhood.

brwarchitects recognized as top-performing firm in PSMJ circle of excellence

Aug 5, 2019 | Awards & Press, Longform Stories

PSMJ Resources, Inc., the world’s leading authority on the effective management of architecture, engineering, and construction firms, announces the members of the 2019 Circle of Excellence. Seventy-two exceptional architecture and engineering firms made it onto the exclusive list this year.

PSMJ designed the Circle of Excellence to highlight successfully managed firms that demonstrate outstanding achievements in areas such as profitability, overhead management, cash flow, productivity, business development, staff growth, and turnover. The Circle of Excellence represents the top 20 percent of participants in PSMJ’s annual A/E Financial Performance Benchmark Survey, based on 13 key performance metrics.

supportive services for complex organizations

Jul 25, 2019 | Longform Stories, Projects

With a long history of having worked in historical contexts in Charlottesville and Central Virginia, brwarchitects was initially consulted to provide some architectural sensitivity support for MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) engineers for a local institutional client. This evolved into a series of supportive maintenance, upgrade, and planning activities over the following years while our client executed more prominent restoration projects.

In any complex institution, the wide variety of organizational functions make facilities changes an involved procedure. We think of these as “domino projects” in which one change or upgrade to a facility leads to new and re-emerging organizational needs in other areas. In addition, our client’s many personnel were distributed among disparate buildings – a predicament that they had previously identified as a priority.

Kurt Keesecker Appointed Principal

Jun 13, 2019 | Awards & Press, Longform Stories, Staff News

brwarchitects is pleased to announce that Kurt Keesecker, AIA, has joined firm founder Bruce Wardell as Principal and Partner. In addition to 20+ years of experience as an Architect and Senior Associate, Kurt is a visionary community leader, amateur game designer, and master storyteller.

Kurt’s passion is for community infill projects and the relationship between private enterprise and public good. His memorable projects include The Belmont Lofts, architectural and planning support for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s mountaintop restoration, and numerous visionary studies for Charlottesville’s urban core. After serving for nearly a decade on the Charlottesville Planning Commission, Kurt will use his new role at brwarchitects to think deeply about how our community can be more beautiful and more just.

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