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Circle 77 on reader service card Circle 24 on reader service card n From the Editor
Their Currency is Ideas Editor Vernon Mays It's remarkable, when you stop to Assistant Editor think about it, that a conversation among Rebecca E. Ivey a handful of architects 10 years ago could Director of Sales have sparked a movement that already Porter F. Hulett Sales Administrator is discussed in every architecture school Ctiarleen M. Pine and watched by every design journal. Such is the case with The New Urban- Graphic Design ism, which has rapidly charted a course Steven Longstaff from total obscurity to total familiarity within architectural circles. Distribution Efa Adams Today New Urbanism is synonymous with a design and planning philosophy Accounting that oppcises urban sprawl, the segregation of people by race and income, environmental Cindy Caramela deterioration, and land development practices that isolate neighborhood.s rather than Public Relations link them. The term was coined by a group of architects who organized in 1993. Margaret J. Tinsley That year, 100 people gathered at the first annual Congress for a New Urbanism Publisher (CNU) to lay out its principles - which address design at the scale of the region, the neighborhood, the street, the block, and the building. From this tiny group emerged John W. Braymer, Hon. AIA an upswell of interest. Today CNU (an organization as well as an event) has more than 2,300 members in 20 countries; its literature boasts that there are more than Editorial Advisory Board 210 New Urbanist developments cither under construction or completed in the U.S. Stephen C. Weisensale, AIA, Chairman In the mid-Adantic, the roster of projects include the Randolph neighborhood revival Carlton S. Abbott, FAIA in Richmond and, of course, Kentlands, the Gaithersburg, Md., subdivision that nmks Edward J. Gillikin, Jr., AIA as the prototype of traditional neighborhood developments. Robert M. Gurney, FAIA Rather than issue stuffy manifestos, the leaders of New Urbanism often present Michael S. Hedgepeth, AIA their case with such common sense that it defies argument. California architect David A. Keith, AIA Peter Calthorpe, a CNU founder, uses the case of Portland, Ore., to support his Robert L. Paxton, AIA argument for limiting sprawl. "Land-u.se reactionaries claim that regional open space Donna M. Phaneuf, AIA preservation and lu-ban growth boundaries drive up home prices by limiting die supply WillardM.Scribner,AIA of developable land," Calthorpe writes. "But the link between rising prices and the urban growth boundary is unclear." Calthorpe says the doubling of housing costs Portland experienced in the '90s was matched in Salt Lake City and Denver - both regions witliout growth boundaries. "Perhaps Pordand's high-quality jobs, open .space, walkable neighborhoods, convenient transit, and successful downtown are making the region more desirable and, therefore, more expensive," Calthorpe maintains. Inform (ISSN 1047-8353) is published five times a year by the Virginia Society of the Taking the counter view is Columbia University professor Peter Marcuse, who American Institute of Architects and is attacks New Urbanism on the basis that it hearkens back to a form of community funded in part by a grant from the Virginia that rarely existed in the past: a nostalgic small-town America. "That sentimental, Foundation for Architecture. idealized image of the past of the small town contains a strongly anti-democratic, certainly anti-urban, content," he writes. "For it is an image of a homogenous small town: homogenous by race, by income, by family composition. Here was none of Subscription rate: S22 for one year, $6 tor single the diversity associated with urban life." Marcoise asserts that new communities built copies. POSTMASTER: Please send address to conform to New Urbanist rhetoric more often than not reflect a fear of the urban changes to Inform, The Barret House, 15 South rather than an embrace of progressive new urbanism. Fifth Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219-3823. Telephone: 804-644-3041. Note to subscribers: Both men present compelling arguments. But, left to choose between these polar When changing address, please send address views, I fall on Calthorpe's side. I .sympathize with the goals of the Congress for a label from recent issue and your new address. New Urbanism because they are based on principles of social and environmental Periodicals postage paid at Richmond, Virginia, responsibility. Examples such as the new planning policy in Albemarle County and additional mailing offices. Editorial offices: (p. 16) help to convince me that the New Urbanist approach is better for the envi• ronment, better for the county that bears the infra.structure cost, and better for the 15 South Fifth Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219. people who will live on the suburban frontier. Often criticized for promotmgan old- Telephone: 804-644-3041. Copyright 2003 by Inform. fashioned architecture, New Urbanism is far more than a question of style. CNU's planning ideas hold water, and would do so even if New Urbanist communities were Inform encourages open discussion of architecture made of only Miesian glass boxes. So if a developer refuses to mix affordable apart• and design. Opinions expressed in the magazine ments into a community of half-million dollar homes, it is unfair to hold the CNU are those of the author and not necessarily of the responsible. For the moment, their currency is ideas. Someone else has to put up Virginia Society of the American Institute of the cash to buy the land and build the houses. - Vernon Mays Architects. Timber Frame Comnicrcial • Rc5i(icnti;il • Trusses • Unique Woods • Outdoor Structures
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Circle 88 on reader service card form volume fourteen number one
13 City Living A.S the tnulirional town planning inovcnicni gains momentum nationwide, arehiteels are showing ever greater sensitivity to cre• ating a sense of place - anti demonstrating the will to advocate for change in many communities. By Kiw A. O'Connell
Port Warwick, I^\1A Planners and Architects I'he Neighborhood M<)dcl, l orti Clallas il^c Partiicrs Monroe Square, (laver Nichols, Aichitect Winchester Greens, Baskcrvill & Son
22 Architecture for Architects Designing a building for someone else brings with it an inherent set of limitations. But when architects design for themselves, the Ireedom to be more experimental can yield relreshing results.
Ford Residence, Edward R. Ford, .\IA Design Firm Studio, R.ui .md Assot i.ucs Push/Pull House, L);n id j;u)n.'son \ri hitect
Design Lines new tievelopments in design
32 Books distinctive homes, yes - but are they achievable?
Taking Note doing the small thing well
On the cover: Push/Pull House In our next issue: Photo by Hoachlander Davis Photography Inform Awards
architecture • landscape architecture • product design • decorative arts • historic preservation • interior design • visual arts • graphic design • urban design IJDesign Lines Architecture Foundation Receives Capital One Grant
• riu-1 ,>^.„„•„ / ,„„„/„„„„ ,,„. I,,./,„,.,.,„,.,
Virginia Foundation for Architecture representatives accept the S250,000 gift from Capital One presented by Bill Yontz, vice president for facilities (fourth from left) and Eric Thorpe, director of corporate real estate (fifth from left).
^ • ^ he tillh ;inniial I 'ls/a/is Ji"' reaJ estate and a new member of the foun• was a glorious night for architecture - a I Airhitecnirc celebration, held in dation board. Scribner remarked that the sellout event and a true celebration of the I November at the Common- foundation was fortunate to have found a accomplishments of people and orgimi- J- wealth Club in Richmtrnd, corporate partner that recognizes the zations whose vision and skills enrich the began with a revelation. .\s the capac• potential of the Branch House to serve an world around us," said foundation President ity crowd settled in for dinner, X'irginia educational purpose, while also helping to John W. BravTner, Hon. AlA. Foundation for .Architecture Chainnan preserve an architectural landmark Will Scribner announced a $250,000 During the evening, Richmond radio grant to the foundation from Falls personalit)' Tim Timberlake entertained Church-based (>apital One finaneial the crowd of 350 by dishing out awards services corporation. honoring the architecture-related accom• The grant marks the largest cor• plishments of a wide cast of people and porate eontribution to date in the organizations in attendance that night. foundation's campaign to acquire the Twelve awards were presented to Virginia historic Branch House, a 27,(KK)-square- firms for their outstanding design work, and foot residence designed b\ John Russell a range of honors were bestowed on indi• Pope. The foundation phins to renovate viduals for their exceptional contributions the house for use as an architecture to dieir profession and communities. The museum; its large public nx)ms make the Fairlington cominunit)', located in Fairfax building fitting as an exhibition g-allen,-. and .\rIington counties, was honored for The I'Lnglish Tudor-st\'Ie mansion is the its enduring architectural significance with only projxirty on Ridimonil's Monument the Test of Time .Award. .Avenue listed on die National Register At Visions, die foundation threw a of Flistoric Places. spodight on the achievements of those Representing Capital One were who make crearing. preserving, and sup• Society Vice President Scott Spence (at left) Bill Yontz, vice president for facilities, porting the development of significant delivers Award for Presen/ation to Tyler Pugh, anil F.ric Thorpe, director of corporate worLs of architecture their focus. ^''Visions chairman of the Jefferson Center Foundation. Preservation Awards Honor Three
Preservation took the spotlight at Visions for Architecture mth an unprecedented three recip• ients of the Virginia Society AlA's Award for Preservation, which honors an individual or organization contributing to the preservation of a significant structure, district, or site, or to the cause of preservation through education, research, Jim Ritter. winner of the Noiand Medai in 2002, or other activities. celebrates with wife Betty and son Mark. The individual award was given to Alexandria Ritter Honored with City Architect Al Cox, AIA, who approaches his work with an eye for historical accuracy and William C. Noiand Medal knowledge of local building trades. Under his supervision, Gadsby's Tavern, Union Station, It came as no surprise to his colleagues and and Alexandria City Hall have become standards friends when, on November 8, Jim Ritter became of restoration sensitivity, while new mixed-use the 34th recipient of the William C. Noiand Shaftman Performance Hall ventures have also benefited from his guidance. Medal, which honors a distinguished body of Cox shares his knowledge through lectures and walking tours of Old Town Alexandria. accomplishments that transcend the scope of typical professional activities. This AIA Fellow A second award was given to the Historic Richmond Foundation, which has worked since has been in practice in Virginia for more than 1956 to rescue historic sites and districts. Past projects include Robert Mills's Monumental 28 years, creating award-winning architec• Church, Elijah Myers's Old City Hall, and the Monroe Ward neighborhood. Recently the foun• ture and providing a compelling example of dation has returned to Church Hill, the beneficiary of its first campaign, to work toward the preser• leadership within both the community and the vation of the former WRVA station, designed by Philip Johnson. profession. Also named a winner in the category was the Shaftman Performance Hall, the once-aban• doned and decaying Roanoke auditorium built in 1919 as a part of Jefferson High School. Scheduled Ritter has served as president of both the for demolition in the 1980s, the building was salvaged by a crew of concerned citizens who Virginia Society AIA and AIA/Northern Virginia, formed the Jefferson Center Foundation and took on the cause of restoring the school. The organizations that have benefited from his final phase involving the auditorium began in 1997, resulting in completion of the Tudor interest in design-centered initiatives and pro• Revival landmark. grams. With his dream of creating the bienni• al Virginia Design Forum, Ritter encouraged architects to explore the world of design that reaches outside the boundaries of the archi• tecture profession. An emphasis on rigorous Students Soak Up Architecture design permeates Ritter's practice, resulting in in Italy, Switzerland, Mexico more than three-dozen design awards for his Alexandria firm, James William Ritter Architect. Students from three Virginia universities recently completed foreign A hallmark of his design strategy is a sensitiv• travel that was supported in part by scholarships from the Virginia ity to the site, in which buildings are carefully Foundation for Architecture. The foundation awards annual scholarships placed so they blend with the landscape. to students from each of Virginia's three collegiate architecture programs. His discourses on design, from articles to Robert Crawshaw from Hampton University followed a journey public lectures, have influenced fellow archi• through Mexico as he observed the Spanish Colonial influence on urban tects, as well as design students at Virginia Tech's design. His travel group interspersed visits to urban centers, such as Mexico Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center. City and Morelia, with visits to ruins from the pre-colonial era, such as Tula Since 1981, he has served as an adjunct faculty and Teotihuacan. Noting the prominence of the square in Spanish Colonial member and mentor to many students, some of architecture, Crawshaw examined, photographed, and sketched major public whom have gained their first professional expe• squares, churches with smaller squares, and residential squares. rience in his office. For 40 of his students, Ritter Fascinated with the many layers that contribute to the architectural took on the responsibility of guiding their tran• fabric of a city, John LaBombard from the University of Virginia investigated sition into the architecture profession. the layers of Rome's architecture at the scale of city, structure, and indi• In his local community, Ritter has held a seat vidual stone. Through a series of drawings, his investigation followed a path as the Chamber of Commerce representative on beginning at the Theater of Marcellus, located at a topographical low point the Alexandria Archeological Commission, and bythe Tiber River, and proceeded to the Via del Teatro di Marcello, finally now advises the Central Springfield Area arriving at the Piazza del Campidoglio. Revitalization Committee, for which his firm Christopher Lawton from Virginia Tech completed a two-month designed a 70,000-square-foot cultural center. externship during which he designed a studio house for a painter on a site "I love being an architect," Ritter said in in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. Based on the creative act of painting and accepting the medal. "I still get profound plea• the intent of the artist, the studio was the first residence Lawton designed. sure from watching one of my buildings rise out of the ground. And I enjoy seeing clients and other users of my buildings discover the delights Robert Crawshaw's sponsored travel in Mexico produced a series of inherent in each of those places." photographs of vernacular doorways, three of which are shown (right). inform 2003; number one ••SHENANDOAH SASH & DOOR 37277 East Richardson Lane • Purcellville, • Virginia 20134 In Touch with Sprawl: Earthpulse
Assistant Editor Rebecca Ivey reviews a different design-relatec website in eacli issue of inform. Reactions and suggestions can be sent to her at [email protected].
The educational Earthpulse website, a sub-site of the National Geographic web address (www.nationalgeographic.com/earth- - m^^^^ pulse/sprawl), features interactive materials that familiarize visitors with the global challenges facing the environment. Under the heading "population," the issue of sprawl rears its ugly head. Earthpulse brings the planning issue into focus for young and old with the "virtual world," Urban Sprawl: The New Suburb?
This explo• ration expands on a 2001 article in the print edition. With links to the original faff'' article and related images, such as the sobering "sprawl map" of the United 2002 States, the virtual world opens a dia• Education logue on sprawl, Site envisions suburbs with light rail, retail... Partner with then provides a blueprint for alter• Virginia native development. The vivid, appealing Society AIA design centers on exploration of a Flash-enabled New Urbanist street- scape. As the virtual \m\m\m\mv visitor meanders along the main i i | || street of the town. ... sidewalks, street trees, and front porches.
light rail transit cars glide by, cars park street side, and trees line sidewalks outside of mixed-use buildings. Click on an element, such as a town square or corner store, and see it outlined as a part of the fabric of Smart Growth, as well as the specific ways in which W /loli-sd/i- /)i.si) i/ii(l
www.SashandDoor.net
Circle 103 on reader service card 2003: number one inform Canal Development Picks Up Speed
hen thousands of ciu-iosit\'-seekers came to experience Taking cues from the l8th-centui-\' buildings in the surround• Richmond's new Canal W alk in 1999, civic leaders were ing w arehouse distiict, SMBWs new Turning Basin building appro• W caurioiisly optimistic about the pace of redevelopment priates the same boxy brick exterior form, setting off heavy brick that would be stimulated by the mile-and-a-quarter-long attrac• piers with refined brickwc)rk ;md cornice detailing. .\ street- tion. An existing up.scale furniture store and a new Irish-theniecl level loggia creates a |upeline along \'irginia Street, fimneling pub were news at the time. But, nearh- four years later, the addi• pedestrians from the Shockoe Slip area to a plaza that links to the tion of a major mixed-use building and several |x;nding arcliitccniral (>anal W alk. Housed in the new building is a branch bank and projects are reasons to believe this quarter of the upscale steakhouse on the ground level, with cit\' is on the road to rejuvenation. aw olTices, financial firms, media/adver• T'he most recent puzzle piece to tising firms, and nonprofits leas• sna|i into place is the Turning ing the upper floors. Basin prf)ject, by SMBW The Turning Basin .'Vrchitects of Richmond building is the first of a The five-storybuildin g number of architec• is adjacent to the tural projects that Canal Walk's new boosters hope will turninu' basin, a sa\e the riverfront manmade pool diat while developing evokes memories a viable business of the fomier Great and residential Basin several blocks wcsi where, in the 1 mid-lSOOs. barges and passenger boats The proposed Canal were able to turn around Landing (left) would after passage along the place retail space James Ri\er and Kanawha on the canal, along (^anal, which was built to open with offices and commerce to the western territories. structured parking. core. I he Richmond architecture firm Baskcr\ ill ^: .Son is working witJi developer Style, Quality, and Durability Highwoods Properties to design a 16- story office and retail tower called Canal Landing on the property south of the Terra-Fonn turning basin. Precast concrete Baskei-vill is also progressing rapidk site amenities on Canal Oossing, a 1 l(),(){)()-S(]uare-foot and custom tax-credit project ior Fulton I lill Pro[x:rtic>. precast concrete Located one block east of the turning designs basin, die development entails the restora• tion of a nearby warehou.se and tobacco curing shed, the latter of which is having Terrazzo its signanire metal skirts reproduced in Ptecast terrazw, Metal-Form stainless steel. The architects will occupy terra::o tile and Metal plastic thermo- the entire second floor of the shed when matching accessories coated site furnishings they relocate their studios there in July; the lower floor is reserved lor reiail and restaurant uses. A new atrium links the Terra-Paving two-stor)- shed to the old warehouse, a Concrete pavers and five-ston' building slated for office and matching accessories retail use. Wlien completed, C;inal Crossing ^7pg will be one of the largest buildings to be (lc\cl(>peil iicai- ilic rcsioi-cil canal. P.O. Box 1520 9001 Bu.s. Hwy. 51 Fulton Hill Properties also has Wau.sau, WI 54402-1520 armounced plans to develop the massive 800-388-8728 gray Lady B\Td I lat (>ompany building, Fax 715-355-4627 located just west of the turning basin, as a www.wausautile.com multi-tenant restaurant and retail project with storelroius opening on the lower level to the (>anal V\'alk and to V irginia 10 Circle 120 on reader service card .Street on the upper elevation. Farther west, the vacant Steam Plant building and Hydro-Plant pro|x;rty, iK)rh retired \'irginia Power facilities, have been contracted by ihc Daniel CoiiMnaiion/C^ordish (>ompany, which wants to develop the site as Rj\'er- side Village. The 400,()00-square-foot mi.ved-use development would include - offices, retail space, residential units, and parking - which is scarce in this part of the city. Farther upriver. Dominion is nearing completion of the first phase of its Tredegar Fxpansion project, designed by the Richmond team of Baskervill iic Expertise, exceptional service Son v^-ith 3 North. If realiz.ed, these devel• and a partner involved in every opments in combination would generate project; these attributes make a projected 4.000 to 5,000 new jobs and account for more than a half-billion dol• our company and our clients' lars of private reinvestment. projects a success. Referrals are the norm. And repeat business James j. McCarthy, Jr., executive runs an astounding 75%. To director of the Richmond Riverfront find out more, call or visit our Development Oirporation, calls 2002 a website. You 11 be pleased at watershed \ ear for the area. With the what develops. Fuming Basin building 90 percent occu• pied, with Dominion relocating 1,100 employees to its riverfront site, and with www.baydesigngroup.com die Daniel/Clordish development agree• ment approved and construction slated Engineering, Surveying & Land Planning to begin as early as this spring - Richmond • Middle Peninsula • Tidewater McC^anhy enthuses, "U'e're seeing projects develop despite the slow growth of the economy."
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Circle 57 on reader service card As the traditional town n Tidewater Virginia, a planned community sits on a bluff over• looking the James River, witnessing a daily struggle between the tides and the current. The urban village is designed to planning movement gains blend businesses, civic institutions, and a range of residen• tial types, while maintaining open space for the communi• momentum, architects are ty's shared use. Although it sounds like a model of New Urbanism, this place is actually quite old. This is Hilton demonstrating the will to Village, built in Newport News in 1918. Hilton Village is, however, inspiration for a new urban advocate for change in development in Newport News called Port Warwick. Port Warwick is a mixed-use village near the city's central many communities. business district, with a variety of residences located only a short Iwalk from offices, shops, and restaurants. "We took the standard rela• tionships - which came directly from Hilton Village - of truly pre• planned residential communities in the country," says Jeff Stodghill, AIA, principal of PMA Planners and Architects, of Newport News, one By Kim A. O'Connell of the project's collaborating design firms. New Urbanism celebrates traditional neighborhood development (TND), creating dense communities of smaller lots, narrow streets, and a mix of commercial uses and residences. The focus is not on the individual structure but on the public space created by a network of buildings and streets. This resurgence of urban-minded development has created a new generation of architect-planners, who are as adept at arguing for zoning changes as they are at leading design charrettes. In the past decade. New Urbanist developments were developed primarily in the inner city and in the inner-ring suburbs. Although a few new towns have become models of traditional urban develop• ment - such as Kentlands, Md., known for its diverse housing types - other developments that have popped up on the landscape are merely inform 2003: number one shallow interpretations of the New Urbanist model. Some of these developments combine retail and residential uses, but they replace affordable housing with uniformly gentrified upscale units. Others frame their buildings in a traditional Colonial or Victorian veneer at the expense of a strong connection to their surroundings. Recently, the New Urbanist trend has matured, as architects bring TND thinking to infill developments in cities as well as to bur• geoning rural areas. A greater emphasis is being placed on creating a unique sense of place, pulling cues not just from surrounding res• idential neighborhoods, but from local topography, nearby historic and archaeological sites, or even industry. In the hills of Charles Town, W.Va., for example, topography is a potential hindrance to developing an urban village with a traditional Families are the beneficiaries of USC's work in Richmond. street grid. Yet Washington, D.C.-based Cunningham + Quill Architects has acknowledged the topography in a mixed-residential develop• Richmond LISC: ment that maintains connections to the landscape and to the down• Nonprofit Venture Capitalists town, leaving room for a future transit connection. Adding another When you think of venture capitalists, you probably nuance to the project is the proximity to several historic mansions with don't think of John Finneran, executive vice president and ties to the George Washington family. general counsel of Capital One Bank. Nor do you think of Comprising seven connected neighborhoods located around a Jim Ukrop, chairman of First Market Bank and Ukrop's village center, the new development of Huntfield rests on 996 acres supermarkets. But when you talk about their leadership of south of Charles Town. Although still relatively rural, Charles Town Richmond's Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and Jefferson County are experiencing rapid growth because of its they're quick to descril>e themselves as such. Much like a venture rail connection to Washington. City planners wanted to avoid the strip capitalist invests in neu- businesses mtJn the expectation of future development that has plagued nearby Loudoun County, Va. profits, Richmond LISC invests financial and technical Cunningham + Quill studied the sight lines from the historic resources in established community development corporations mansions toward the development's highest points. This effort sug• (CDCs) with the expectation of better neighborhoods. gested the location of open spaces in those areas and helped to In this way, Richmond LISC and its affiliates have lever• define the site's seven districts, each of which has a distinct char• aged more than $160 million of investment into housmg, diild- acter based on its environment, geography, and closest historic care services, commercial space, and community facilities resource. Within each neighborhood, a dense hierarchy of uses 14 that have revitalized neighborhoods in greater Richmond. and residential types exists, including retail, civic, multifamily, and Since 1990, Richmond LISC - a local program office of single-family areas. A greenbelt and hiking/biking trail create links National LISC - has helped produce more than 1,600 housing within the site and to the heart of Charles Town. units and nearly 100,000 square feet of commercial space. In addition, Cunningham -i- Quill helped to develop a new zoning In addition, more than 300 CDC staff members received train• code for the site and have advanced a proposal for a new train ing in construction management, team building, and other station on an existing freight line that bisects the site and connects skills through a leadership academy that the organization with a nearby Maryland Rail Commuter line. rims. In tiirn, these nonprofit developers work to transfonn "While we are big fans of New Urbanism, [its design strategies] distressed communities. are just good urban planning principles that have stood the test of LISC's ultimate goal is to help CDCs become more time," says principal Lee Quill, AIA. "We make our work very specific businesslike, allowing them to enhance value in their neigh• to the place and the site." borhoods and improve life for the families there. How does In Milton, Del., an updated urban development is breathing this happen? By coordinating the capital available from public life into a moribund industrial center. In the late 19th century, Milton and private sources with a community's project demands, was home to the largest cannery in the East. It served as the town's LISC ensures that limited financialresource s flow efficient• primary tax base until it folded in the early 1970s. Today, Milton ly to the places where they are needed most. retains its small-town charm, but most residents leave the city to Current leaders are extending the community develop• work in nearby Lewes or elsewhere, and open space is increasing• ment message into the suburbs. "The housing or service ly targeted for strip development. issues we face are not the issues of one demographic group or To keep people working and living in Mifton, James William Ritter one jurisdiction alone," says Greta Harris, senior program Architects, of Alexandria, has designed Cannery Village, a mixed-use director for Richmond LISC. "For that reason, LISQ our CDC development on nearly 180 acres next to the old cannery. The devel• partners, and a growing number of business and govern• opment - which includes 300 housing units of various types, as ment leaders are working toward a regional solution." well as live/work units and street-level retail - mirrors the spatial Now Richmond LISC's portfolio includes 11 CDCs. The design and density of downtown Milton. The design team has also staff is guided by an advisory committee comprised of loc-al acknowledged the site's industrial past by renovating an old furnace decision-makers representing the corporate, philanthropic, complex as an early 20th-century Modern building, now used as the community, and religious sectors. When they work togeth• village sales office and community center. er, the sky is the limit for Richmond LISC, whose most "The part of New Urbanism that I'd like to find a way around is immediate goal entails marshalling $100 milUon of invest• the notion that we've got to make it look like Old Town Alexandria," ment to targeted neighborhoods by 2005. That accomplish• says principal James W. Ritter, FAIA. "The tenets of New Urbanism ment would help develop 735 new affordable housing imits that I think are correct are the emphasis on human scale, on human and more than 100,000 square feet of commercial space. continued on page 18 Urban Ambitions Po?t WuTivick Takes Shape in Newport Nrivs
Conceptual drawing (below) shows large-scale buildings surrounding the central square. Single-family homes line the side streets (above).
lthough New L'rbani.st develop• A ments can be \-iewed as paeans to the old neighborhood in general, or to traditional architectural stjdes in particular, few devel• opers attempt to com• bine their nostalgic aspiraticms with a cele• bration ot art and liter• ature. Yet just such a nod to the humanities drove the concept be• hind Port Warwick, a mi.xcil-use village in the 15 heart of Newport News. The town's name comes from a novel written by New poi'i \c\\ s native son William Styron, who was tapped to name the village's streets.
The themed development is just one public sculptures placed strategically at The architects were careful to include aspect of developer Bobby P'reeman's entry points and major intersections. a condominium building that reseml)les an efforts to evoke a distinct sense of place at " I he sculptures and the pavilion early 2()th-century factor)' or warehouse. Port Warwick, .\lthough still untested in create a kind of Cit\' Beautiful image that "Every .\merican city is an amalgamation Newport News, New Urbanist villages has disappeared from the .-Xmerican land• of different buildings and different times, have become increasingly common on scape," says Jeff Stodghill, .-MA, of Newport and the vitality comes from all of that the American landscape. Sometimes, in their News-based PMA Planners and .\rehitects. pulled together in harmony," Stodghill quest for a traditional appearance, these P.MAcollalK)rated with Brandon Currence says. "We knew somediing different would developments sacrifice their specific con• .Vchitect, Kiithleen Zeren-Bn)wn Landscape enrich the feeling of the square and the texts, whether historic or modern. Design, and land planners Higgins & whole neighborhood." At Port Warwick, the design team Gerstenmaier on the site design. -KimA. O'Coinivll worked to build a traditional neighlx)rhood while recogniz,ing the site's industrial pa.st. .\nd they hope to foster civic identity- through public art. Located on a 150- atre bn)wnfield once owned by the Eveready Public sculpture has Battery Co., Port Warwick is already been placed at key taking shape with a mix of condomini• intersections (right) ums, apartments, and homes. Plans also to give the develop• include live/work townhouses, a senior ment its own identity. living center, and .^0,(X)0 square feet of shops and restaurants. The master plan includes community paths and green space, a pavilion in the central Styron Square, and
inform 2003: number one Designing for Density Albemarle County's Neighborhood Model
nlike other communities with unique natural and historic resources, UAlbemarle Count\' feels no need to undertake a heritage tourism or back-to- nature campaign to attract visitors and residents. It doesn't have to - each year the county adds about 2,000 new residents who are drawn by the tranquil Piedmont landscape and the cultural richness of CharIottes\'ille. Yet the population boom and resultant sprawl are threatening the very features that attract people to the count)- in the first place. To combat this trend, Albemarle recently adopted "The Neighborhood .Model," a master plan for growth that emphasizes TND principles and pro\'ides an urban development framework, while allowing rural areas to remain intact. The model, which in 2002 won a national AIA This rendering shows the current landscape in ... and how it would look if developed in dense Honor Award for Regional and Urban western Albemarle County... clusters, preserving open land. Design, establishes development principles including pedestrian-oriented streets and 16 paths, interconnected streets, parks and open space, mixed uses, neighborhood centers, and clear urban/rtiral boundaries. "We're modifying our ordinance to take out barriers that keep New Urbanism from occurring," says county planner Elaine Echols. "Conventional develop• ments usually have 25- to 30-foot front yards. W'c want to bring the homes up to the street and create a streetscape." .\lready the county Board of Supervisors has approved alleys and shared driveways, as well as new parking standards, in the des• ignated development areas. The model forms the basis for a new master plan for Oozet, a small town on the county's western edge. The plan calls for a conunercial and civic center in Crozet's downtown, reflecting the townspeople's desire to be self-sufficient - not merely a a bedroom community of Charlottesville. "There is concern in the community about infill areas, and from that they hear '(lensit)-,' and from that they hear 'reduced quality of life,' " says Xeal Payton, AIA, of Torti Gallas and Partners, the Silver SjDring, Md., architects who led the design process. "The goal was to show the com- munit)- that a higher level of density, coupled with a model for building, could not only be acceptable but actually quite Previous zoning regulations would have The Neighborhood Model would encourage this wonderful." -Ki?nA. O'Connell produced this pattern of development. type of growth in the same area. ;i\ ei' Nichols, .'MA, has worn many hats - architect, investments broker, G and real estate agent among them. Old House, New Life That breadth of experience came to bear in his efforts to create Mcmroc Square, a Urban hifill at Monroe Square in Alexandria neotraditional infill project in the Del Ray section of Alexandria. The inspiration first struck Nichols when he noticed "for sale" signs on an old farmhouse and a rambling brick boarding house next to it. He convinced owner Herbert Munday, Jr. to subdiN-ide the boarding house's half-acre site and build two new single-family houses on it. Xichols bought the farmhouse as part of the deal. Del Ray reminded Xichols of emerging towns such as Kendands, one of the early New Urbanist developments with a strong street grid and alleys behind the houses. "My intent was to create a mini-Kentlands," he says. But the task was easier .said tlian done. For more than 18 months, Nichols labored to get the site plan approved, because 14 zoning variances were needed to save the old boarding house and allow for the unconventional sed)acks of die new hcjases. In the process, Nichols lobbied citizens' associations for support, worked with city staff to refine the site plan, and argued the wisdom of his approach to planning com• missioners and city council. 17 Nichols gave the new houses details such as double-decker porches, 9-foot ceilings, and two-story- bays to blend with die neighborhood. He placed the houses away from the street to afford shared views and create a visual openness so impor• tant that deed restrictions were added to prohibit fences from being built between the properties. In addition, porches were configured to create private courtyards and iron fencing was put around the site to upgrade the image of the houses. Wlien it was all completed, Nichols had designed die houses, obtained permits, acted as general contractor - and even Seen from the rear porch of the farmhouse, Monroe Square feels like a cluster of old houses. sold the new homes. Plus, he says, the project was a catalyst for the neighborhood. "It helped to start the renovation of at least a hundred homes." - Vernon Mays
Boarding house (1) and farmhouse (4) were givens; two more (2&3) were added, including a tradition-inspired house with wide porch (right). inform 2003: number one Rocketts Landing continued from page 14 Representing n $230 million investment on Richmond's activity. The trick now is to figure out how to do it without doing phony riverfront, the Rocketts Landing urban village, designed by Colonial architecture.... We can design urban spaces that have CMSS Architects, of Virginia Beach, reclaims a brownfield some meaning, that will be good places to be in, no matter what site. The plan for 28 blocks of mixed-use, muld-stor\' units the fagades turn out to be." required new city and count\- zoning codes. As envisioned, Albemarle County has developed a master plan for growth that inhabitants would be able to live, work, shop, and play widiin stresses the need for density in orderto foster a sense of communi• the development's confines. The site also encompasses a ty and realize the urban amenities and cost efficiencies made pos• mile-long waterfront park to provide river access, while sible by creating new neighborhoods. Known as "The Neighborhood preserving the community's urban scale. Model," this guiding document calls for redevelopment of retail space in the community of Crozet, the extension of existing residential neighborhoods in the town, and new residential development in conjunction with a proposed new rail station. At the same time, green space is preserved by concentrating the development areas into centers and leaving expanses of land for agricultural or recre• ational use. The document received high praise in 2002 from the national AIA Honor Awards jury as "a sourcebook of guiding princi• ples that show investors and developers what kind of new deve• lopment is most in the public interest." On a much smaller scale, Alexandria-based Gaver Nichols, AIA, has created historically sensitive infill development in the city's Del Ray neighborhood, without sacrificing front and side yards. Located on the neighborhood's edge, his Monroe Square project ties Huntfield together four single-family homes with traditional neighborhood The 996-acre site for details such as porches, yetthe varying setbacks create a fluidity and Huntfield, outside open space not typically found on blocks close to the neighborhood Charles Town, W.Va., core. Nearby, the Spring Street Greens infill development forms a was originally sited more strictly urban street front, but Nichols has opened the space by within the count\''s '' varying roof lines from house to house. urban growth Ixjund- For New Urbanism to be successful, architects will need to look ar\-. Using a process 18 not only atthe past, but far into the future. "Development needs to be that encouraged dealt with from a long-term standpoint- looking 10 or 20 years from public participa• now - not just looking at what's going to get people to move in tion, Cunningham because it's cute," says Mark Larson, AIA, a principal at Baskervill + Quill Architects, & Son, of Richmond. The firm is working on Winchester Greens, a of Washington, D.C., drafted a scheme X...'' residential/commercial development in Richmond that has replaced incorporating principles of smart growth and aging subsidized housing with both subsidized and non-subsidized traditional neighborhood development. Small quarter-mile- units. Upward mobility is built into the development, which incorpo• wide neighborhoods aim to put people within an easy walk of rates a range of income levels and housing types. parks, civic buildings, and stores. A proposed open space "One of the indictments against our profession is that we do not system connects to Charles Town and its future trail system. build in concert with our environment," says Burrell Saunders, AIA, principal of CMSS Architects in Virginia Beach. CMSS has designed Cannery Row a 1,500-unit mixed-use development in Richmond called Rocketts A shipbuilding center for two centuries, Milton, Del., housed Landing, which required the approval of new building codes to the largest cannery east of the Mississippi. When the opera• replace a sprawling sector with a reinstated urban grid. tion closed, the property was bought with an intention to Half of the proposed development sits in Henrico County; the rehabilitate the 18th-century buildings. In its design, the other half lies in the city of Richmond. Because the county did not have firm of James William Ritter .Architect, of .Alexandria, used a code that allowed mixed-use development, CMSS worked with landscaping and infrastnicture to recreate the feel of Milton's the Henrico planning staff to craft a new ordinance that allowed for historic streetscape. Two renovated buildings at the town center a new type of zone, called UMU for "urban mixed use." The new code will anchor a central square and include shops, live/work is now part of the county's comprehensive plan. Likewise, the city units, townhouses, and a recreation center. of Richmond had mixed-use codes, but most didn't allow for residen• tial development in the mix, Saunders says. After working with CMSS, the city now has two new riverfront zones that allow residential and commercial uses to be blended. The firm's advocacy approach to reconstituting an abandoned corner of Richmond could be a kind of challenge for all architects to take up the cause of city-building. "Our profession ought to be engaged not just in single-building pursuits," Saunders insists. "We ought to be shaping our cities."
Kim A. O'Connell is a freelance preservation writer based in Arlington. Affopdabie Townscape Redefining Subsidized Housing at Winchester Greens in Richmmd
i-
Front porches on townhouse units encourage socializing and deter crime (above and left). Residents are given the freedom to personalize the front landscapes and the unit interiors.
ark Lee, a govermnent-sponsored housing project built in the 1960s, housed 400 low-income families in blocks of P apartments in Chesterfield County. During the next three decades, the problems inherent in the design became apparent. With few green spaces and a lack of places to gather, the physi• cal design isolated families and encouraged crime. In 1997, the Better Housing Coalition, a Richmond nonprofit, i Proposed Single-Family Homes 15 ^ approached Park Lee wiiii the understanding that the neighborhood needed to be radically reorganized and rebuilt. Tapping architects Baskervill & Son, land planner Clark Plaxco, and housing archi• tects Talley & Suttenfield, all of Richmond, the coalition wanted a new neighborhood plan that would foster a sense of commu• VVini:hiislHr biHnris lowiihdines nity. Collaborating with Plaxco, principal Mark Larson, AL\, of Baskervill & Son, created a layout based on traditional neighborhood development - emphasizing tree-lined streets wirii sidewalks, a variety of housing types with porches, and common green areas. Save for its infrastructure, the site was leveled and rebuilt from scratch. And while single-family houses and neighborhood Dflice/Hotail Elderly Hoiismg retail are still in the works - it's assumed they will develop as the :)iivi an: Cmnei population grows and creates a demand - the rest of the elements are in place. Former Park Lee residents rent many of the 240 town- CommL-rcial/Reta houses, which meet stringent aft'ordabihty and durability guide• lines and are rated high for energy-efficiency. The new community center houses a business center, library, social services offices, meeting rooms, and a pool. Senior housing is already built too. Although not set up on a street grid, Winchester Greens was redeveloped in a To show off its new identity, the neighborhood was renamed way that is mindful of TND principles such as mixed uses, common Winchester Greens. It's a name to remember, because it is one green space, and semi-private space created through use of porches. of the first projects to demonstrate how to make an impact within existing urban infrastructure, rather than expanding outward from the city onto green sites. - Rebecca E. hey inform 2003: number one VIRGINIA FOUNDATION FOR ARCHITECTURE Mr. Thomas J. Madigan Mr. Charles Matta Mr. Nathaniel McCormick Mr. John T. McGrann Jr. Mr. Hugh C. Miller Mr. and Mrs. Mark Qrling Ihe Virginui Foiwdation for Architecture exists to emich the human expe• Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Pease rience through a broadening awareness of architecture and its impact on our Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Perel Mr. Joel Steely Peterson Jr. lives. The Fowuktion supports outreach ejfoitssiu:h as Inform magazine, it piv- Mr. Charles Piper i'ides scholarships to architecture students, and it is steward of the Bairet House, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Pittman an 1844 historic landmark in Richmond. The Foundation acknowledges with Reader & Swartz Architects Mr. Sean E. Reilly appreciation those who supported its efforts in 2002. Mrs. Virginia Reynolds Mr. Jack Rogers Simmons Rockecharlie & Prince Inc. Mr, and Mrs. Baird Smith $250,000+ W. M. Jordan Company Charitable Foundation Mr. Scott Spence Capital One Mr.andMrs.G.T. Ward Mrs. Ann Spreen Wright Robinson Osthimer & Tatum Mr. Charles Steger T. David Fitzgibbon Charitable Trust Mr. and Mrs. David Stemann $500 - $999 Mr. and Mrs. Alan Storm $50,000+ Mr. and Mrs. Paul H. Barkley Mr. and Mrs. Don A. Swofford Mr. & Mrs. John Hancock Taylor & Parrish Inc. Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company * Mr. J. Calvin Holcombe Mr. Henry Tenser Kjellstrom & Lee Mr. Tim Timberlake $15,000+ Magoon & Associates VMDO Architects Allied Concrete Company, Charlottesville; Mr. D. Jeffry Parkhill Mr. R. Randall Vosbeck Allied Concrete Products, LLC, Richmond & The Shockey Companies Mr. Lawrence Weinstein Chesapeake; The Ukrop Foundation Williams Mullen Valley Blox & Building Materials, Verizon Harrisonburg Other 20 Harry E. Ormston Charitable Remainder Trust Worth Higgins & Associates * Mr. T. Duncan Abernathy $10,000+ Ms. Efa Adams HSMM,lnc. S100-$499 Baxter Bailey & Associates Stroud Pence & Associates Mr. and Mrs. Carlton S. Abbott Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Bell S5,000 - $9,999 Baskervill & Son Mr. Kevin L. Bertholf BB&T/DeJarnette & Paul Mr. Edgar Beery Jr. Mr. Edward Blanks H.C. Yu and Associates * Mr. E. Randolph Blankenship Jr. Mr. Douglas Bollinger Mr. and Mrs. M. Kirk Train Mr. and Mrs. Raymond H. Boone Ms. Cindy Caramela Mr. Peyton Boyd Mr. Lawrence Cook $1,000-S4.999 Mr. Robert A. Boynton Ms. Helene Combs Dreiling Mr. and Mrs. Stephan F. Andrews Mr. and Mrs. John Burns Mr. John Dreiling BCWH Marvin J. and Ellen Cantor Mr. Daniel Fell Drs. John and Meta Braymer Mr. Wylie Cooke Jr. Mr. Bradford Grant Clark Nexsen P.C. Mr. & Mrs. Al Cox Mr. and Mrs. Horace Gross (in memory of Mr. Dale Lee Cupp Mr. Frederic Cox Jr. Harry E. Ormston) DBI Architects Mr. HalC. Craddock Mr. Z. Scott Hurst Glave & Holmes Associates Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Craig Ms. Rebecca Ivey Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company Dave Jones and Associates * Mr. Timm Jamieson HKSInc. Mr. A. Jack Davis Mr. Henry A. Jandl HVC Chenault Ms. Beverley Macfarlane Dew Mr. Howard Maginniss Mr. and Mrs. Robert Magoon Draper Aden Associates Ms. Shelley Martin McKinney & Company Mr, Patrick Farley Mr. Vernon L. Mays Mr. Robert Middlebrooks Mr, and Mrs. Edward Ford Mr. Mark McConnel Moseley Architects Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Ford Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Moore James William Ritter Architect Mr. S. Gary Gill Mr. Alan Morledge Riverside Brick Mr. and Mrs. W. Douglas Gilpin Jr. Mr, Robert Morris III Grace Street Residential Design Mr. and Mrs. Willard M. Scribner Ms. Eunice Murray Mr. William Henry Harris III Shenandoah Sash & Door Company, Inc. Mr. Thomas Osborne Mr. Michael Hedgepeth Shriver & Holland Associates Mr. M. Jack Rinehart Jr. Mr. Wayne Hughes SmithGroup Mr. Gregory Rutledge Mr. Thomas Kamstra The Whiting Turner Contracting Company Ms. Margaret Tinsley Kishimoto Gordon P.C. Ukrop's/First Market Bank Mr. OlinWalden Mr. and Mrs. John LaMonica W. M. Jordan Company *in kind Lutron Shading Solutions BALANCE SHEET DECEMBER SI, 2002 (AUDITED)
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS Cash and cash equivilents $527,187 Accounts receivable $39,009 Contributions receivable $17,385 Total current assets $583,581
Contributions receivable, less allowance for uncollectible receivables $13,600 $221,801 Investments $256,762 Land, buildings, and furniture at cost less accumulated depreciation of $433,028 $766,740 Coming in 2004: the Virginia Center for Architecture at the Branch House. Costs incurred to acquire Branch House $229,178 ear Friends, Total assets $2,058,062 hen asked if I would chair the LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS Virginia Foundation for Architecture's 2003 Annual Fund CURRENT LIABILITIES W; campaign, I responded with an entiiusias- tic "yes." As a foundation trustee, arcliitect, Accoimts payable $2,650 •and long-time member of the state's build• Current portion of long-term debt $2 3,884 ing community, I am eager to support the Total current liabilities $26,534 building arts through the foundation's M. Kirk Train. AIA lual Fund - the cornerstone of its funding operation. Long-term debt, less current portion $ 114,032 For those of us in the building communit}-, it simply makes 1 sense to invest in the industry' that feeds us - die industn* we Net Assets $1,917,496 know and believe in. But the fea that the foundation advocates for Total liabilities and net assets $2,058,062 important issues that affect people's day-to-day lives - things such 21 affordable housing, smart growtli, livable communities, and tile continued integrity of the building arts - makes it a sound invest• ment for concerned citizens everywhere. STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES Education is key to the foundation's mission. Through the YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2002 (AUDITED) foundation's support of publications, including/w/an/; magazine, your .Annual Fund dollars reinforce the point that architecture is RE\-ENUE vital to the shaping of our communities and responsive to our per• sonal lives. Your Annual Fund investment also continues to provide Grants and contributions $853,321 nnecessare y dollars for sdiolarships for \'irginia architecture smdents Investment income $7,234 ani ;d for outstanding educational exhibitions and programs. Rental income $82,402 On another front. Annual Fund dollars are helping the Program revenue $131,533 fo(undatioi n move forward to acquire, preserve, and maintain the Other income $2,202 • BrancBr h House, die liistoric landmark property where the foundation Net realized loss on investment transactions ($12,255) pkJan s to house the \'irginia Center for Architecture in 2004 and open Net unrealized loss on investment ($48,193) its doors as the state's only architecture museum. The public will Total revenue $ 1,016,244 be invited to enjoy this important addition to Virginia's oiltural land• scape; to participate in its exhibits, classes, and forums; and to dis• EXPENSES cover the center's impressive access to architectural resources. This issue of Infimri launches a new approach to the .\nnual Program services und campaign. Rather than making a single end-of-year appeal, Preservation $92,291 e offer you the opportunity to time your Annual Fund gifts :Wl Education $65,323 through the donor envelope pro\ided in each Infonn issue. Management and general $33,055 Thanks to generous past support, the Virginia Foundation for Fund Raising $74,058 .Architecture is setting and reaching ambitious goals. Please join Total expenses $264,727 me in ensuring its future success by contributing to the Annual '^und. Simply fill out the intbmiation on the enclosed envelope and Changes in net assets $751,517 turn it with j'our pledge or pa)Tnent. Remember, your gift is tax luctible. Thank you. Net assets, beginning of year $1,165,979 Interfund transfers I. Kirk Train, AI\ Net assets, end of year $1,917,496 Chairman. 2003 .Annual Fund Campaign i, The V-shaped structure on the exterior gives the support that creates the large open volumes inside.
By Vernon Mays
Ford Residence • Edward R. Ford, AIA
^^^^ ikc iiiDst arts, the making of architcciurc rei|uircs the Ford's first choice - or non-choice, rather - dealt with the house's ^ control and baliuice of a seemingly infinite number of deci- structure. He had long subscribed to the notion that the choice sions. But Edward R. Ford, .\IA, likes to say thai his luu of a strucmnil system was also the choice of a system of spatial order 23 I^P^ IK )use in (Charlottesville has more to say about the decisions - diat to be spatiall)- adventurous, one had to be strucmrally adven- that were not made. From the comtruction of the house's sup• nirous. So a fundamental choice to be made was the form and porting structure to the makeup of the tiniest details, Ford fol• material of the frame. Should the house be steel or WCHKI? If wood, lowed a decision-making ioumey that can be likened to approach• should it be platform or heavy timber framing? ing a fork in the road - and then exploring both paths. .\s Ford tells it, this was the first of the decisions not made. "Many of the decisions that architects consider to be Rather than choose to do a house framed only in steel or wood, critical choices in design are to me either unnecessary or im• he resolved to do a house of steel and wood. His exhaustive possible," says Ford, a professor of architecture at the University research on many of .'Wierica's most revered buildings - published of Virginia. Whether he was feeing the choice between the detail in his two-volume set titled The DctaiLs of Modem Architecture - of traditional architecture or the non-detail of minimalism, proved to him that a hybrid solution was not such an unusual between a building that emphasized its frame or one dominated approach. "Many of die all-wcxxl houses I admire are, in fact, nothing by walls, between an open plan or a house made of closed of the sort," he says. "The wood houses of Wright contain a fair cells - Ford made it a habit to choose not one alternative, but bodi. amount of steel, carefully kept out of sight." He points out that In taking that tack, he rejected the conventional wisdom that to H.H. Richardson, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gustav Stickley, and be Modem was to l)e minimal, scaleless, and reductive. At the same the Greene brothers all designed buildings that were meticulous time, he eschewed the notion that to refer to history was a con• in their expression of wood, but were supported by lunple amounts cession to traditionalism. of steel at critical iunctures. "The Modernist steel house is no less impure," P'ord contends, citing the Fames House, the Case Study Houses, and odier well-known "all-steel" houses that employed steel only for exposed structure, while the remainder of the framing (tj-pically wood joists and studs) was hidden.
For his own residence. Ford decided that, rather than obscure the construction technique for the sake of visual purit)-, he could achieve a richer result of iuxtaposed scales and spaces by openly combining steel and wood framing. "On another level, I just like those two images - the log cabin and the Case Study Hou.se joined together," he unabashedly admits. The two types of structure yielded two tv-pes of space. The overall skeleton consists of a wooden post-and-beam frame - a cage of 9-foot cubes - that creates generic loft space. Overlaid on the wooden frame are specific cxinfigurations made of steel - each element 7
One of the two visual axes through the house aligns with the living i fireplace, which anchors a sweeping view of the neighborhood. 25
The loftlike living room, filled with natural light from clerestory windows above, is framed by a gallery overhead that contains Ford's office and library.
angled and proportioned to fit its precise librar\- gallery a single spatial volume with function. The largest and most promi• a connection bet%veen the two functions. nent steel elements support the libraiy In the completed house, corridors and and roof. This assembly, which appears stairs converge on the living area, which on the exterior of the house as a heavy V occupies the center of an open loft framed topped wirii a l^am, carries the heaviest load by a composition of colorful steel beams, and spans the longest distance. neutral walls, and V\'(KX1 fl 26 While Ford enj()yed the freedom to different, which was to use colors that are sculpt the interior ot the house as he saw close together in the spectrum." F"ord fit, the site restricted his choice about the began looking at the work of abstract houses interior in a number of ways. painter Ellsworth Kell\ - who. according IvOcatcd just a tew blocks from to l ord, |nit colors together in a way that Cliarlottes\illcs courthouse square, the made them appear to vibrate. The colors house is shochorned onto a quarter-acre in I-"ord's house also con\c\ llic si/.e of loi |);iiciu-(i loLivihiT I'l-dni trnumciiis u\ the structure: the biggest jiarts are green, subdivided lots and traversed by both intennediate parts are orange, anil handrails sanitan' and open storm sewers. By com• are \ ellow. bining lots and relocating the sewers. .Although he doesn't regularly use Ford created an L-shaped site for the (^/\DD, Ford found it to be the perfect house so hemmed in by city setback tool to help select colors. Using a digital rei|uirements that the house literally could camera, he took photographs of the not be moved an inch without violating con.sinicted house and, using a Photoshop zoning ordinances. .software program, explored a variety of color options. "The warm colors worked I .ike a lot ol .MiKlemistN. he starred out best on the outside, because of the color thinking about a building with lots of of the siding, which has a dark stain mak• glass. Cost considerations (|uickl\' led him ing it look like redwood." to reduce die amount of glass and replace it with solid walls, to the point where he In spite of die years he has devoted to wishes he had begun with the concept of study ing Modern architecture. Ford sa\'s a windowless box and placed windows it was an eye-opener to discover how where ab.solutely needed. much rime it takes to construct a building Ford's use of color tells a number of with unconventional details. ".'Viid time stories about the house. "It is classic is money when you do something out of .\l(Kleni in a way," sail's Ford, who confes-ses the ordinary," he says. "So if you are a fondness for buildings of the '20s and talking about an experimental building '30s, with intense but limited amounts of system, the ver\- fact that it is different - color in contrast with white paint and certainl)- in the home building industry - An inglenook with light diffused through natural materials. "But those architects is going to make it expensive, even if it's glass block wails occupies the landing halfway mainl\- used primiuy colors. I did somediing a better solution." between the first and second floors. 2003: number one inform Third Floor Plan 1 The kitchen (above) was designed to support the needs of Ford's wife, Jane, a former professional chef. Light penetrates the stair 1] that rises to the library loft (below). Project: The Ford House, Charlottesville Second Floor Plan 27 Architect Edward R. Ford, AIA Consultants: Dunbar Milby Williams Pittman & Vaughan (structural engineering); Mark Schuyler (lighting); Kirk Martini (structural consultant) Contractor: Ace Contracting First Floor Plan 1 Entry 8 Open to Below 2 Kitchen 9 Master Bedroom 3 Breakfast Room 10 Master Bathroom 4 Dining Room 11 Study 5 Guest Room 12 Library 6 Sitting Area 13 Bedroom 7 Living Room / a sign J an ates / 1^ A proscenium wall assembled from salvaged residential doors slices through the space, dividing the public functions from private ones. ^^^^ / 1 V Custom workstations are particle board, surfaced with linoleum (left). Table- 29 height storage units (above) hold flat files. he disciplines represented in the design office of together in this bullpen environment, we became a squad of David Rau and .Associates include architecmre, inte• [X-'ople who were excited about die work as it unfolded." sa\ s l i aser. rior design, landscape architecture, graphic design, "It made the culmre exciting. Now, because the completed space and architectural history. Their process is collabora• is \ er\ open, there's a lot of cross-conversation. The freedom of Otive, and their organization resists corporate hierarchy. creative expression has earned dirough from die construction phase." VMien they first occupied their digs in Richmond's C^arytown. they The renovated stuilio encourages unrestricted movement by were crammed two-deep into a warren of bo.vy offices around a eliminating doors and placing necessary walls at strategic angles nondescript open area with no character and no u.seful structure. to communicate their function or provide a sense of enclosure. Soon the firm was nmning out of square footage, unable to Conference areas can be made more private by closing thick grow with technology and ready to tackle the space head-on. draper)' made from quilted moving blankets. Light fixtures were The office's transformation followed the same path the designed by the firm and locally made. The effect is surprising• designers take when beginning a job for a client. The first step: ly opulent in the understated environment, belying the moder• establish an "IQ Master Plan" to guide the work - an exercise in ate cost of the materials. The strongest statement is made at the identifying a project's intangible qualities. "We started with the entrance, where a clean white wall made from recycled residen• same concept, but the process was more fluid and intuitive," tial ikx)rs slices through die space at an ;ingle, fomiingthe circulation says Peter Eraser a senior asscKiate in the finn. "The level of scruti• spine and providing a clue to the firm's contextual approach. ny was up a notch, because it was personal." "Inventive uses of common materials reflect that we are For numerous reasons, the architects decided to live dirough part of contemporary culture, while still being part of the classi• the renovation, rather than move out while the construction cal tradition," Eraser explains. "A visiting client would not e.xpect ujok place. They allowed their own deadlines to be more flexi• his project to look like this, but it does show how we develop solu• ble than usual to keep billable work the priority. So everybody tions tf) specific programs; in this case, our need for openness, our shifted around the torn-up space, huddling in areas curtained non-specific hierarchy, and our multiiliseiplinary approach." off by plastic sheets and frosted with dust. "In bringing even bod) - Ami Noi-'ell Gray inform 2003: number one Give and Take Push/Pull House • David Jameson Architect s a free-floating stair whose transparency lends a sense of openness and light to the house. \ V !• (• / Second F»oorP»an 41 First Boor P»an 3^. 6 Kuchen \ Entrv 7 BreaWastRoom 2 GaHerv 8 ^Aas^er Bedroom 3 Living Boom g Bedroom ,0 Opet^^o Below ® 5 Dining ,ff„ul,»nathen m ^„d,,„ n • , «pla"--J;\ , J.i.cnts ^.uch U «.« COS AU^^^ ^„ arst floor J « inform 2003-"urT>ber one ^ B 0 0 ks DISTINCTIVE HOME The Distinctive Home: A V ision of rimclcss Design. By Jcrcniiuh Eck. 240 pp. \'eTJtoz'n, Cunnecricur: Taunton Press. $40.00 clorh. Re:-/(•::• b\ Miirk Aldcii Biwich hat could get the American Instinne of/Vrchitects and the Pretty Pictures, W Taunton Press riled uj) enough to go into a book-publishing Squishy Concepts 32 partnership? The 146-year-old pro• fessional association and the savvy- pub• lisher o( Fine I liiinchiiil(lin{y clearly share a common enemy - call it the not-so- distinctive home. We're talking about since Christopher Alexanders A Pattern Through such a process will come what he the thousands of new suburban homes Lu/ngiu/ge." But Eck's book has neither the calls a distinctive home, a design that is built every year, tarted up for curb rigf)r nor die clear thesis of .\le\anders ambi• "timeless." appeal and loaded with "features." but tious typology. Instead, he writes si^uish) , His text rarely makes value iudgments utterly lacking in coherence and a sense rarely assertive prose about things you aliout whedier some kinds oi distinctive are 2003: number one inform cA COMPLETELY NEW PALETTE. COMPLETELY NEW SPECIFICATION TOOLS. cA COMPLETELY NEW WAY TO LOOK AT COLOR. Fresh, rah p.ilcttc witl) ,\ foun- Truer, more reliable paint d.itioii in science th.it achieves matches to color samples, and specl.icular .icsilietic results. brighter, more vivid exterior hues with UV fade resistance. Comprehensive color solutioti with .in e.xpanded range that Ibols thai make (inding, selea- saiistics the needs ol your mg and specifying colors easier commercial, residential or ihan ever. industnal clients. Lirger. more durable tan deck. One coiivenicni palette for interior and exterior. Coiilaciyour Sberwin-Williams Architecliiral Accouril Execulivt. lohii DiMurco. at 703-328-40.i8Jhr more infomialion. s site, this use is beyond the Thr Colon. Tlif Pawl. Vie I'oiiibililiei" get of most ordinary mortals. Circle 30 on reader service card 33 tects in his examples in tJic text. He even neglects to mention the architect of one of the four houses he singles out for ten- Huiri in page spreads. Perhaps this was a conscious B ••121.." "ill decision to de-emphasize the architect in order to hx.us on the architecture. Ilie omis• sion in the body ot the hook is addressed by a complete listing of the architects - with Cutler/Anderson addresses and phone numbers - in the Architects back, and one must simply match them up designed this with the right page number. high-end cabin to .-Mthough the publishers say the book reveal views as is intended for the general public, Eck's one approaches. MSA, P.C. The shortest distance between concept Offices in \ irfilnia Beach & and construction l-.astvHIe, V A is a great consultant. (800) 282-4568 En vironmcnlul Sciences Land Planning' Experience... Suneyinfi The MSA Difference!" C ivil Eni'ineei in^i Landscape .1 rchitecture www. msaonline. com Circle 100 on reader service card exiiinples tend to be rather high-eml. 1 le doesn't diseiiss budgets, but the houses are mostly large and have sumptuous iletails worthy ot Fine Hmichiiildi/ig, where many of them have pre\'iously apjieared. I le writes a tn-eat deal al)out exploring the site carehilK- and examining all its features, and describes widi admiration more than one "arrival sequence" over a winding driveway through the lorest. All well anil good, but it is hard not to picture an average would-be house builder poring over his quarter-acre suburban tract with a magniKnng glass, searching in vain for what might make it distinctive. l'"ck Icax es k)r others the problem of how to gi\ e affordable, mass-produced housing some of the qualities that make his examples so innting. He complains more than once about the way suburban houses "tend to fiice the road like soldiers in formation" (one of the few things a Xevs L'rbanist such as Andres Duan\- might tolerate about suburbia), but his exhortations aren"t so relevant to the vast majorit\- v\ ho are building on small suburban lots where • there is little choice but to join the other soldiers. So the book's main audience must be those consumers who are so well-off that, in another rime, the)- might have hired an archi• tect to build a (me-of-a-kind home, but who are increasinglv turning to high-end tract houses they can move into without straying from dieir time-consuming careers. Architects, whose share of the suigle-family housing market was riny to begin with, are sureK taking a hit from these readv-made tract mansions, and F.ck and his publishers will do the profession - and the built world - a big favor if they win a few converts to the cause of "distinctiveness." Ttlis residential interior, sheathed in glowing wood and panels of glass, is consistent with the extravagant examples in Eck's book. Mtirk AUieii Branch is lixeaitive Editor of the Yiik' Ahivini Minrirzinc. He live.'.- in Xez- Hiiven, Connecticnt. 34 No one sweats the details like we do. XTroni ilic initial ^pcc to the final walk-through. c\cr\ detail is critical to the success of your project.That's why wc .sweat c \i r\ one from hcgiiuiing to end. Whether nou need l^ricks. mi blocks, stone or acces.sory products, off the shelf or custoni- Potomac Valley Brick Built On A Foundation Of Service. matlc for\()ur proji-ci, we'll make it ha|ipcn. .Since I976,\vc'\c heljictl architects, huiklcrs and contractors solve the toughest 301-309-9600 construction challenges No sweat. DtT\\'nod circle PVH offers yon more: ( n'lmii Sh.ipi K (.iiMnrii Sizes. Design Assisl/iiiie. Amliars. lies, (liy I'uvers. Rockvillc. MD 20850-1263 S/oiu: (iliiss iiltH-k Mns/iiiig. Hni/Lvip,- h-mluris tvui intirr. (<)J(X)i I'oumiM VnUcy Hiid: Int. www.pvbrick.com Circle 75 on reader service card CEBAdvertisers FABRIK F U R N T U R E 5, MILLWORK EST. 19 7 6 Andersen Windows www.andersenwindows.com back cover ARCHED EhfTRIES - RADIUS CASEWORK Architectural Component Marketing p. 35 CIRCULAR STAIRS - TANGENT RAILING Architectural Concrete Products www.archconcrete.com p. 2 COOPERAGE - COLLECTOR'S CABINETRY Architectural Windows of Virginia CONFERENCE TABLES - YACHTWORK pl FIGURATIVE 5. WILDLIFE CARVINGS Architectural Wood Protection www.drlcon.com p. 2 MANTLES - MONUMENTAL SCULPTURE ORNAMENTAL & PATTERN LATHEWORK Bay Design Group www.baydesigngroup.com p. 10 FABRICATION IN ALL PRIMARY MATERIALS BB&T/DeJarnette & Paul www.BbandT.com p. 11 MICHAEL SCHAAS. 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Ri.hmoiul, VA WausauTile www.wausautile.com p. 10 Circle 113 on reader service card Since 7.922 Pine Hall Brick Shockey Can Build It. • New High Tech Plant • Full Clay Paver Line Parking structures, industrial buildings, correctional facilities, churches, • Trained Paving Specialists • English Edge & The Old Series warehouses, sports facilities, hospitals, transportation products, schools. • All Pavers Exceed ASTM C902 We've been building for more than 100 years. What can we build for you? SX Type-1 PX 800-334-8689 You Imagine It. Shockey Can Build It. Circle 84 on reader service card ARCHITECTURAL SHOCKEY COMPONENT THE PARTNER OF CHOICE'' MARKETING Crider & Shockey Architectural Doors Howard Shockey & Sons Fiberglass Components Veneers • Columns • Mouldings The Shockey Precast Group Charles E. Creswell, Jr. Ready-Mixed Concrete / General Contracting / Construction Management 3339 Stone Manor Circle Design-Build / Structural and Architectural Precast Concrete Chester, VA 23831 804-717-5349 / Fax 804-717-5350 (540) 667-7700 Toll Free 877-717-4106 www.shockeycompanies.com Circle 22 on reader service card Circle 17 on reader service card On the Boards Architect: Architecturra Design Group. Inc., Newport News Architect: Baskervill & Son, Richmond Project: Performance Food Group Office Expansion Project: 5 by 5 Martini Cafe & Grill This project involves the renov ation and addition of an exist• Basken iil \- Son was retained to desii,m this .s 5.()00 s.t.. .i-story ing hiiildintr in Newport News. Architecturra Desit^n (iidiip expansion for Perfonn;mce I-CXKI Ci"roii|), a Fornine .•>{)() conipain. brings a contemporary Iree-forni approach to this 2,500 s.F. L'tili/iii!.; Icaiiires such as pretlnished metal |ianels. ihe West restaurant. The proijrain inte<;raies [lanoplies ot'free-fomi sha|)es (j cek project v\ ill be comjilete in November. Basken iil fin- and surlaces tor spatial intiniac\'. lel: 7.s7-H7.^-*^644 islied the original building in 2001. Tel: S04-.H.>-1()I() 36 Architect: BCWH, Richmond and Forest Architect: CMSS Architects, PC, Virginia Beach Project: Private Residence Project: Oyster Point Town Center This private residence in Richmond is locateil just north of die The town center will be the largest urban .scale development James River. VMiile the house maintains a "closed" facade on die Peninsula. .\ 2-storv-. .>0,0()() s.f. retail fiicilit)- in the centers along the street, it opens up at the rear to frame dramatic river retail \ illage will join the recently comiileted Fountain i'la/.as views. Tel: 804-788-4774 (Richmond); 434-385-0495 (Forest) One and Two, a IO-stor\-, 110,000 s.f". office building, and an SO.OOO s.f. office buililing, respectively. Tel: 757-222-2010 On the Boards listings are placed by the firms. For rate information, call Inform at 804-644-3041. Architect: DMJMH+N, Arlington Architect: Einhorn Yatfee Prescott, Washington, D.C. Project: Berkeley County Judicial Center Project: Gottwald Science Center, University of Richmond Berkeley (bounty, W. Va., is consolidating its judicial functions The charge is to renovate the existing 168,()()() s.f. facility and into one facility that will accommodate growth. The design will design two additions totaling 26,000 s.f. .V new atrium links the celebrate the original building, a mill from the early 19()()s diat building with the campus, featuring a "Science W alk" that lx.'gins was converted into an oudet mall in the mid-1980s, while e.\pre.s.s- at the University Forum, runs through the science center, and ing the new county courthou.se. Tel: 70.^807-2.SOO ends in a proposed gartlen. Tel: 202-471-.>000 37 Architect: Gresham, Smith & Partners, Richmond Architect: HSMM, Roanoke; STV, Vienna Project: Conway-Horry County Airport Project: Largo Line Stations and Parking Decks This 10,000 s.f. terminal building houses the North .Vmeriean The extension of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Institute of .\viation's flight school as well as general aviaticm .Authority Blue Line includes two new passenger stations facilities for die airport. The building is organi/x'd around a characteri/xid h\ skylit pul)lie spaces, lanilscaped plaz-ts, and public central elerestor\ -lit corridor di\ iding school and [)ublic func• ;ut. The design/build project with (llark-Kiewir includes a child tions. Tel: 804-270-0710 care center and parking deck for 2,100 ears. Tel: .>40-857-.^257 inform 2003: number one On the Boards Architect: Mitchell/Matthews Architects and Urban Planners. Charlottesville Architect: HuK-Morris Architects, Richmond Project: First Baptist Church addition Project: New Student Residence, Bridgewater College This IQ.OOO s.f addition for Eirst Baptist Church in .Ashland I bis project is an initial smd\' and conceptual design for a res• includes a 7()()-seat worship center with a balccmy and an idence hall at Bridgewater College. The proposed ihree- atrium fellowship area that features a 1.600 s.f translucent sky• stoi-y. 200-bed project responds to the colleges master plan and light roof 'iel: 804-343-1 .^05 / [email protected] Georgian architecmre, providing an appropriate public face on the colleges main thoroughfare. Tel: 434-979-7550 3o Architect: Phillips Swager Associates, McLean Architect: Quinn Evans Architects, Washington, D.C. Project: Loudoun County Public Safety Building Project: Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University This 60.000 s.f public safety facility will create a progressive Located in the heart of Baltimore. /Vmericas first conserv atory image for Louiloun County. The use of a split-face masonry of music is now undergoing a $20 million renovation. The new wall, green glass, and metal j)anel inset within a curtain wall 4-story- grand arcade will weave the schools 5 major buildings system accentuates the public entry. (>ontact Dan Moore. AIA. into a more integrated campus setting. Tel: 202-29H-6700 fel: 703-748-1S04 2003: number one inform Architect: SKB Architecture & Design. Washington, D.C. Architect: Smith + McClane Architects. Richmond Project: Shea & Gardner Offices Project: Dock House Shea & (iardner is relocating to three floors at 901 New York Lxxated on a five-acre pond in rural Botetoiin C>)unt\, this simple Ave., N.W. in W ashington. .\ key element of the new space structure is designed to blend with the local vernacular fami is a communicating stair, which provides die link between the buildings. .V small bathroom and a storage room are includ• firms social centers consisting of reception, conference, ed, along with a large screened porch and open deck areas. librar>-, and litigation. Tel: 202-332-2434 Tel: 804-648-8533 39 ORD AREAl WELCOME CENTER Architect: Marcellus Wright Cox & Smith Architects, Richmond Architect: Wiley & Wilson, Lynchburg, with Harvey-Delaney, Lynchburg Project: Tredegar National Civil War Center Project: Bedford Welcome Center This new 20,(XKJ s.f maseuin on the historic Tredegar Iron \Abrk.s Wile\' & W'ilson is currendy provitling design services for the site will focus on the events of the Civil War as seen from the new Bedford Welcome Center located adjacent to the National perspective of the Union, the Confederacy, and ,\frican- D-Day .Memorial. The rustic facilit}- will contain exhibits of ,'Vmericans. The project incorporates the Tredegar foundry area historic sites and local points of interest. Tel: 434-947-1901 buildings into its design. Tel: 804-780-9067 / [email protected] Taking Note Elements in Harmony I his renovation of a house in Washington, D.C, had as its spring• board a unique facet: the client wanted to redesign living spaces to evoke feel• ings of serenity and harmony with nature. In response, architect Susan Woodward Notkins, AIA, fashioned a plan that maximizes views and space, with details inspired by the simplicity and balance of traditionaJ Japanese design. Notions, working in tandem with Cheryl Copeland, AL\, her associate at Susan Woodward Notkins .Architects in McLean, knew a dramatically revised floor plan was in order The architects / preserved only the entrance and the kitchen, adding a wide hallway extend• ing from the front door at a 45-degree angle and framing a view out into the backyard. The hallway opens up into the dining room, whicli flows into tfie new The interior dry garden and dramatic hearth ^rnvide living room with its floor-to-ceiling a focal point in the open living/dining area. expanses of glass. Continuing the angled geometry, die living room addition projects from the main volume of the house, nearly enclos• 40 First Floor Plan ing a small section of the yard as a private Zen garden. The addition's transpar• 1 Entn/ ent exterior wall allows the peaceful 2 Dining Room ambiance of the garden to influence 3 Master Bedroom mood inside the house. 4 Existing Kitchen Between die living room addition 5 Dry Garden 6 Zen Garden the new master bedroom lies a dry 7 Living Room garden consisting of a bed of sm(X)th black stones, accented with an earth-colored rock and a spray of bamboo. Lit by a .sky• light, this visual vignette ties togedier tJie various spaces. Rising from floor to ceiling, two heartlis - one a bright yellow, the other a vivid red - a'eate focal points. The yellow living room hearth creates a column of color that contrasts with die dark simplicity of the dry garden, while the red hearth brings similar drama to the master suite. Utilizing unexpected, but deliber• ate angles, sparse but dramatic color, and subtle Japanese elements, Notkins was able to meet the clients' expectations, The addition's creating new spaces that suit their pro• transparency allows grammatic needs with style and restraint. for the garden and - Rebecca E. Ivey living space to intermingle (right).