Architecture school Dean Karen Van Lengen says new additions to the A-school will alleviate the overcrowded Campbell Hall.
The UVA Architecture School will begin construction this summer on two additions that will add 20,000 square feet of office, classroom and exhibition space to the school, while also preparing Campbell Hall to mesh with the incoming Arts Grounds.
The East Addition will be the new “face” of the Architecture School, with sides facing Rugby Road and the soon-to-be-built Arts Grounds. A tall mini-tower will have reception space and jury space for student exhibitions. It will also provide a direct entrance to an auditorium.
The South Addition will add 26 new offices and more lab space. “We have been in a very tight situation for many years—so they’re going to alleviate that,” says Architecture Dean Karen Van Lengen.
The real facelift will come in the form of landscaping designed by the local firm Nelson-Byrd-Woltz Landscape Architects. New terraces and improved passageways to the Art Museum and Rugby Road will improve the dreary topography on the hilly site. The landscape design fits in with a larger scheme to create an arts and architecture hub at UVA. The Architecture School additions will take 18 months and should be completed in spring 2008. Most of the project’s $11 million budget has come from private donors. The Arts Grounds project is still in the fundraising stages.—Meg McEvoy