On Architecture


ONARCHITECTURE- Man of steel: Scouten touts new technology Published on Mar 8th, 2007 0 comments According to architect Alan Scouten, ThermaSteel is the answer. The answer to what, you ask? Since the mid-1970s, Scouten, who taught urban planning at UVA, has been looking for an alternative way to...
ONARCHITECTURE- Bright idea: Danielson's Beacon's back in town Published on Mar 1st, 2007 0 comments "I think the Terraces is a good building, not a great building," developer Oliver Kuttner told his architects, standing last year in the former Central Fidelity Bank building on the Downtown Mall. "...
ONARCHITECTURE- Saving Nimmo: History avoids the wrecking ball Published on Feb 22nd, 2007 0 comments About half-way down Hartman's Mill Road off Ridge Street stands a dilapidated, unusual Gothic Revival house built in 1870. It's one of a handful of historic residential properties protected by city...
ONARCHITECTURE- Green monster? BAR vote highlights doubts over 201 Avon Published on Feb 15th, 2007 0 comments When Time Magazine decided to focus on the green architecture movement in 2001, reporters sought out Randy Croxton. His National Resources Defense Council building in New York City is considered a...
ONARCHITECTURE- City planners: 'Let there be light on the Mall' Published on Feb 8th, 2007 0 comments Last June, after the Board of Architectural Review rejected developer Keith Woodard's plan to demolish several Downtown Mall buildings to make way for his nine-story First & Main project, members...
Mondo condo: Lessons from last year's 'craze' Published on Feb 1st, 2007 0 comments Recently, real estate agents and the local media have touted last year's robust condo sales as evidence that the slump in the real estate market isn't as bad as people think, especially in...
ONARCHITECTURE- Shadyac almighty: Director to buy church for shelter Published on Jan 25th, 2007 1 comments Last June, when the Hook reported that the First Christian Church on Market Street was listed for sale, agent Lane Bonner said that a few other churches were interested in the property, as well as...
ONARCHITECTURE- Fountainblue: Who'll revive our Mall fountains? Published on Jan 18th, 2007 0 comments Can you place the four interactive water fountains on the Downtown Mall? Don't feel bad if you can't place them all. Three are usually hidden, surrounded by the outdoor seating at Miller's, Sal's and...
ONARCHITECTURE- Calling all architects: City seeks designs Published on Jan 11th, 2007 0 comments If the city has its way, the Water Street parking lots could become the Downtown Mall's La Defense: a modernist appendage rising up on the edge of our city's historic core. In early December,...
ONARCHITECTURE- Things to come? Woodlands opens office downtown Published on Jan 4th, 2007 0 comments On Wednesday, December 13, Gropen sign and display company employees Darrell Muler and King Scott were busy putting the finishing touches on The Woodlands' latest marketing move– a swanky new...
ONARCHITECTURE- Busy builders: Another year of explosive growth Published on Dec 21st, 2006 0 comments It's been a busy year in architecture and development. UVA approved the multi-million dollar South Lawn project and opened John Paul Jones arena and Wilsdorf Hall; the city unveiled the Free Speech...
ON ARCHITECTURE- Green ambition: Waldorf's green school recognized Published on Dec 14th, 2006 7 comments Recently, the Charlottesville Waldorf School drew one step closer to realizing its $6.1 million dream of building the "greenest school in America" on 13 acres just off Rio Road. A May article in LA-...
ON ARCHITECTURE- 'Better enough?' Developer steamed by BAR ruling Published on Dec 7th, 2006 2 comments On November 28, the Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review voted to reject a proposed design for a two-story CVS pharmacy on the site of RSC Equipment Rental on West Main Street, a project...
ON ARCHITECTURE- A gentle tap: 8-inch sapling replaces old beech Published on Nov 30th, 2006 0 comments Q: What's the cost of violating a special use permit in the City of Charlottesville? A: $200. On November 14, what began as an effort to hold developer David Turner accountable for cutting down...
ON ARCHITECTURE- Best of what's a nano: Dave Matthews on Wilsdorf Hall Published on Nov 23rd, 2006 0 comments In covering the recent dedication of UVA's $43 million state-of-the-art Wilsdorf Hall, the local media seems to have missed the involvement in the project of one of our famous native sons. While much...
ON ARCHITECTURE- Get going: Trail project connects City dots Published on Nov 16th, 2006 0 comments When the 250 bypass cut through McIntire Park, it severed the small parcel of land that now runs from the skate park to the McIntire Recycling Center. Set adrift, it has nicely accommodated the skate...
Landmark design: County Office Building turns 25 Published on Nov 9th, 2006 0 comments On October 31, county officials celebrated the 25th anniversary of the County Office building on the corner of McIntire and Preston Avenues by christening the $1 million renovation of the 500-seat...
ON ARCHITECTURE- Naked truth: Sparks fly at BZA tree hearing Published on Nov 2nd, 2006 0 comments It's just a small conference room in the basement of City Hall, but on October 26, it seemed more like a court room, as developer David Turner, along with his lawyer, architect, arborist, and...
Tiny modern nod: Shadowy plan honors slaves' history Published on Oct 19th, 2006 0 comments In 2001, when UVA selected the architecture firm the Polshek Partnership to design the new South Lawn project, architects at the University had hopes the new creation would be a departure from the...
ON ARCHITECTURE- Demo days: Crozet house lost as plan languishes Published on Sep 28th, 2006 1 comments Travelers in the vicinity of Western Albemarle High School are seeing a transformed view this fall. Over the summer, one of the two small houses near the school's entrance along Route 250 was...
ON ARCHITECTURE- More than a tree: Are planners<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>out on a limb? Published on Sep 21st, 2006 0 comments Architects can design a campus project, but only God can make a tree. That wasn't the literal message at the Charlottesville Planning Commission's September 13 meeting, but it might as well have been...
ON ARCHITECTURE- Art in place: IX building grabs old bank mural Published on Sep 14th, 2006 0 comments Little did architect Gate Pratt know that one of his first tasks as an architect hired by developer Oliver Kuttner to renovate the old Boxer Learning building on the Downtown Mall would involve...
ON ARCHITECTURE- Façade and effect: Courthouse collapse raises questions Published on Sep 7th, 2006 0 comments It's been more than five months since the northeast corner of the old Juvenile and Domestic Relations courthouse on High Street collapsed, threatening to derail the $15 million City-County venture...
ON ARCHITECTURE- Timber! Felled tree halts project Published on Aug 31st, 2006 2 comments How important is a tree to the City of Charlottesville? Before you scoff, consider that a multi-million dollar University-area development could be scrapped and one local developer could face...
ONARCHITECTURE- Star reborn: Jefferson readied for next act Published on Aug 24th, 2006 0 comments When Hook editor Hawes Spencer sold the Jefferson Theater to Coran Capshaw in April, he had mixed feelings. After all, he'd operated the Jefferson on a shoestring budget for 14 years as a second-run...
ONARCHITECTURE- Picture taking: Bank mural up for grabs Published on Aug 17th, 2006 0 comments Last week we reported that developer Oliver Kuttner's design crew wanted to save the large painted mural adorning the inside of the old Boxer building on the Mall, which Kutter bought recently and is...
ONARCHITECTURE- Uncovered: Anything possible in Boxer space Published on Aug 10th, 2006 0 comments As was mentioned briefly last week, developer Oliver Kuttner is in the early stages of renovating the former Central Fidelity building (also formerly the Boxer Learning building) on the Downtown Mall...
ONARCHITECTURE- Nine lives: Talk continues on Mall towers Published on Jul 27th, 2006 0 comments The Downtown Mall's nine-story saga continues as City Council met recently with members of the Planning Commission, the Board of Architectural Review, and others to discuss the future of the proposed...
ONARCHITECTURE- Critta's corner: Design, history, sway development Published on Jul 20th, 2006 0 comments At first glance, the recently approved 700+ unit development off Rio Road appears to be yet another example of suburban sprawl, of developers cashing in on Charlottesville's popularity, building...
ONARCHITECTURE- Erasing history: Wrecking ball aiming for DeJarnette? Published on Jul 13th, 2006 63 comments It's hard to miss the old DeJarnette Sanatorium on the way into Staunton on Richmond Road. Like some haunted, decaying mansion, the Georgian Revival complex of buildings– originally a...