Projects

brw clients celebrate southwood and habitat

brw clients celebrate southwood and habitat

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.”

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restoring history on the downtown mall

restoring history on the downtown mall

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the historic brick exterior, brwarchitects opened new windows in the existing 3rd Street masonry wall and removed the outdated wood façade and replaced it with a new glass and steel assembly.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.

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supportive services for complex organizations

supportive services for complex organizations

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.

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Southwood redevelopment featured in Washington Post

Southwood redevelopment featured in Washington Post

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.

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southwood redevelopment receives $2.25 million

southwood redevelopment receives $2.25 million

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.

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the effects of a simple roof

the effects of a simple roof

Even a seemingly straightforward commercial project can produce an unexpected moment of delight in its design. The construction of a new office for Froehlinger & Robertson needed to perform well for the staff by providing a comfortable place to work and an efficient arrangement of space. The building is also in a prominent position on Route 250, and so we identified an opportunity to design a noticeable and professional presence, and to capture the beautiful views of the Blue Ridge.

In an early session with our clients, a simple piece of folded chipboard opened up our vision for the resulting design of the roof.

The main feature of the building is the sloping room pointing toward the mountains. This roof, as simple as it looks, serves many purposes. It allows the windows to take advantage of the north light, and creates several interesting spaces inside the building. The slope directs drainage to the back of the building, but it also partly shields the view of the parking from the road. And finally, it acts as a visual landmark, a lantern along Route 250 to mark the presence of F&R in the community.

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designing in context

designing in context

Part of our mission is to design buildings and landscapes that become “good citizens” in our community. This happens by not only meeting the specific concerns of our clients, but also by contributing to the enrichment of the larger community.

Over three and a half decades, our firm has cultivated a design process which responds to the specific landscape, built environment, and social context of each project. This creativity draws from the palette of style, material, texture and landscape in a project’s surroundings and employs them in unique compositions. In this way, we have been able to create clearly modern projects that also fit seamlessly into Charlottesville’s historic neighborhoods.

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board of supervisors endorse southwood action plan

board of supervisors endorse southwood action plan

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.

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repurposing suburban retail spaces at riverside medical plaza

repurposing suburban retail spaces at riverside medical plaza

The decline of big box stores and suburban shopping centers has left urban planners and developers with the dilemma of how to repurpose these large-footprint buildings. Not all attempts are successful: some conversions to town attractions or greenhouses lacked sustainability. The most successful examples of reuse have been in the public interest: community centers, libraries, churches, and medical plazas.

On Route 29 North, the former Riverside Center retail shopping center is currently under redevelopment, lead by developer Norm Brinkman with brwarchitects acting as design firm for the complex’s Building 1.

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city library addition in the news

city library addition in the news

“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.”

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stony point sanctuary addition nears completion

stony point sanctuary addition nears completion

Construction is ongoing at Stony Point Reformed Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia. The renovation of the existing building has completed, and church staff is moving into the offices and enjoying newly modified accessible facilities. The Sanctuary Addition is...

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