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.
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!
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.”
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.
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.
We’re pleased to see the important work at Southwood receive recognition in the national media. The resident-led redevelopment process is unique across the country. Where most communities in trailer parks are at high risk of displacement, the residents at Southwood not only have housing security, but have also become experts and advocates for their vision of the neighborhood.
Governor Ralph Northam announced on Tuesday that the Southwood community will be receiving $2.25 million in funding as part of the Vibrant Community Initiative, which seeks to expand affordable housing opportunities in the Commonwealth. In 2007, Habitat purchased the Southwood Mobile Home Park with the goal to redevelop it as a mixed-income, sustainable neighborhood without resident displacement. Since that time, Habitat has worked closely with residents to stabilize the current infrastructure of the park, expand upon community building efforts, and design a blueprint for phase one of redevelopment.
“This is incredibly exciting news,” said Dan Rosensweig, Habitat President and CEO. “It’s the initial chunk of funding necessary as we develop the resource bank to build the first model village.”
This year, residents contributed over 900 hours toward a phase one rezoning application. Thirty seven Southwood families have expressed interest in being part of the first phase of redevelopment, and this number is expected to grow as the project moves forward.
Great news for Habitat for Humanity and the residents of Southwood Mobile Home Park as the Action Plan for Phase 1 of redevelopment was approved by the Board of Supervisors. This Action Plan was a highly collaborative effort and is a clear step toward real commitment to increasing sustainable, long-term, resident-driven, affordable housing in the County.
We are pleased to announce that brwarchitects has joined Houzz, an online platform dedicated to connecting homeowners with residential design professionals. Several useful features distinguish Houzz from other social media networks, including one we are using already: collaborating with our clients throughout the design process using IdeaBooks.
brwarchitects has been recognized as one of eight national firms for the Bright Horizons Architects Guild for childcare and early education centers. These firms have an expertise in the design and creation of environments specifically for infants and very young children, whose needs and wishes are distinct from older children. These environments are designed to be aesthetically and ergonomically age- appropriate; to create healthful environments that inspire both creativity and safety; and to balance the needs of very young children with those of their adult caregivers. In collaboration with Bright Horizons, brwarchitects completed the design of the Sharon L. Hostler Child Development Center at the University of Virginia in 2014. Currently the firm is working with Bright Horizons on projects in Virginia and Pennsylvania.
“Libraries are the repositories not only of books, but of feelings. There’s the love of a good read, of course, but bookworms harbor other associations with libraries, too: discovery, solitude and the satisfaction of working hard. When architect Bruce Wardell and his colleagues were asked to design a library addition for a Charlottesville homeowner, they learned that their client wanted the new space to evoke just those kinds of emotions.”
brw Principle Bruce Wardell has joined the Board of Directors for New City Arts, a collaborative non-profit fostering engagement with the arts in the greater Charlottesville area. In addition to facilitating creative events and spaces, and hosting...