Month: October 2016

If homes aren’t getting more high tech around Charlottesville, they’re at least getting more connected, according to Ben Feiner of local home integration specialist ProLink.

Where at one time appliance and gadget manufacturers focused on making their own products more interactive, they’ve since focused on playing well with others. “Once the iPhones-slash-iPads came out, most of the manufacturers adapted to some sort of app, and that exploded the market at that point,” Feiner says.

Just about every electronic in the home these days, from fridges and furnaces to security cameras and speakers, can be controlled from a central hub. That means you’re just a tablet computer (or smartphone or Alexa) away from controlling your home from that spot in the couch with the you-shaped depression.

“People tend to think about automation on the AV side of things—music and television control—then they start thinking about lighting and thermostats,” Feiner says. “Beyond that you get into talking about security systems, door locks, surveillance.”

Feiner says ProLink technicians favor the Savant app for home electronics control and rely on a few products on the audio and lighting side but for the most part are device neutral—“once you have the main control systems, that will allow you to do almost anything,” he says.

That doesn’t mean all devices are created equal, of course, and new technology is rolling out every day.

“You’re going to start seeing a lot more appliances that are going to tell you when they need service, if you left the door open, if there are clothes left in the machine, your house is too hot, you forgot to arm the security system—two-way identifications,” Feiner says.

Geo-fencing is also changing the game, Feiner says. The GPS-enabled software feature allows devices to know where you are and act accordingly. Your lights may come on when you’re within a mile of your house, or your doors may lock if you leave that boundary.

“[Devices] are going to be a lot smarter, and most are going to be plug and play,” Feiner says.

Go hubs

There’s an app for that, if by “that” you mean centralizing all your home electronics controls on one device you can take anywhere.

And while a variety of residence control apps are on the market, local home connection specialist Ben Feiner of ProLink says Savant is your best bet. With a high-quality Apple iOS and Android version, Savant breaks your home down by room and lets you control video, audio, lighting, HVAC, security and more from any smartphone or tablet.

“We really like Savant—it does it all,” Feiner says.—S.G.

Every place has a history, but the past at some homes looms especially large. In Albemarle County, the name Kluge is synonymous with lavish wealth, wine and, unfortunately, bankruptcy. Locals—and the rest of the country—watched the fortune of Patricia Kluge rise and fall over her three decades or so in town, and a curious byproduct of the whole saga is that now there’s a house up for sale, modest by Kluge standards but still far from ordinary, in which she once lived.

Many potential buyers (and, we’re guessing, curiosity seekers) will be attracted to the aura of celebrity surrounding this listing. Her story climaxed, of course, with Donald Trump buying Kluge’s enormous estate, Albemarle House, in 2012 for $6.5 million (the mansion had once been listed at $100 million). He’d already bought her vineyard and winery the previous year.

Where do you go when financial ruin chases you out of your 45-room palace? In Kluge’s case, the answer was 2621 Coopers Ln.—a deceptively ho-hum address for a home that, in any other context, would seem impressive in its own right.

Kluge and her husband, Robert Moses, called this place home for a relatively short time, and likely never imagined they’d live there when they had it built on spec in 2007. It was the only house built in what they envisioned as an exclusive gated community called Vineyard Estates, just down the road from Albemarle House.

There’s the history, and then there’s the house. No one’s lived there in about four years. Vineyard Estates did not prove to be a hot seller, and Coopers Lane winds among still-unbuilt lots, its curves lined with neglected landscaping. The sense of eerie absence only increases when you turn into the short driveway of No. 2621, an imposing house where Kluge’s financial breakdown seems mirrored by entropy of a more physical kind.

Clearly, this place was designed to wow. Its 7,100 square feet are arranged in a highly symmetrical layout, and formal gardens wrap around the house. Yet even with a casual look, a visitor can begin to appreciate the situation: This is a home that, despite being built to impress less than a decade ago, is already deteriorating. It’ll need to be rescued soon.

Some problems are not too daunting. Weeds and overgrown rosebushes in the gardens are relatively easy to address. Perhaps the espaliered fruit trees can be rehabbed.

Inside the front entry, the house splays out left and right along a single long hallway, culminating in the kitchen and mudroom at one end, and the master suite at the other. The great room directly ahead is a showpiece, with two fireplaces, three sets of French doors to the back patio and exposed ceiling trusses.

Some of the details here are full of character —the curved staircase, the built-in bookcases that symmetrically appear at both ends of the hallway, the floral wallpaper in the dining room. Others seem to hint at this house’s origin, a place that was built with no one particular in mind. The powder room, for example, is done in a bland style that recalls a nice, but not designer, hotel—as though the expectation was that someone would buy the house, rip this bathroom out and redo it to her own liking.

The kitchen has more personality, with a roomy country feel and some luxurious touches, like the pair of large wine caves in the butler’s pantry. Upstairs, three of four bedrooms have en suite bathrooms, and a capacious hallway at the top of the stairs is a room in itself.

However, the details that prospective buyers will want to inspect most closely are those that speak of repairs and maintenance. The kitchen floor, for example—cork with a faux-stone finish—has been damaged by water near the patio door and the refrigerator. That’s both a replacement job and an indication of problematic leaks. Many of the windows, too, have moisture trapped between the panes: potentially a very expensive fix. Paint is peeling; siding is damaged.

Perhaps someone in the market for a large, traditional home would be willing to take on such projects. After everything is patched up, what will that buyer have? A nearly $2 million house on a not-very-impressive three-acre lot; a house whose design in some respects feels half-hearted. (The pool, for instance, is more like a symbol of a pool than something to actually swim in.) A house that sits alone in a neighborhood that never came to be.

All in all, even without taking the Kluge history into account, it’s a very odd situation. And it’ll take an odd person to see this as home.

Property details

Address: 2621 Coopers Ln., Charlottesville

MLS#: 549777

Year built: 2007

Acreage: 2.9

Bedrooms: 5

Baths: 5 full, 2 half

Square footage (finished): 7,100

Extras: Garage, pool

$1.9 million

As the curator for the Fralin Museum of Art, Rebecca Schoenthal is responsible for creating exhibitions for the approximately 10,000-square-foot space. Sometimes she turns to the permanent collection—more than 14,000 objects—in order to expand upon an idea. Other times, the catalyst for an exhibit might be an object within the collection, around which she then creates her vision. To fuel her ideas, Schoenthal attends art shows, such as Art Basel in Miami and the Armory Show in New York, looking for new, emerging artists. But she also finds inspiration in less obvious media, such as television, Pinterest and fashion.

“When you surround yourself with visual culture, your ideas flow more easily,” she says. “That’s what curating is. It’s selecting. The more exposure to visual culture, the better for ideas to cross-germinate.”

She also runs a consulting business called RKYS & Co. that she describes as “visual consulting and art advisory. I curate people’s homes.” She helps them find and purchase art, rehang or reframe art they already own and/or remove furniture that doesn’t belong.

“My aesthetic in my house tends toward the modern,” she says. “So it’s interesting to work as a consultant because everyone’s tastes are different.” It reminds her of the 10 years she owned clothing store e.g. and essentially curated her clients’ wardrobes. “I come to the job from the point of visual editing.”

She and her husband have lived in their current home for four years. Because it is a rental, all of the walls are white and she’s not sure she’d have it any other way. There are lots of windows, and large-scale art pieces cover the walls that do have space. Their own consists of well-known, unknown and local artists.

“Buy something you like to look at,” she says. “It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t match your couch. In fact, maybe it shouldn’t. If you don’t like to look at it that will impoverish your experience of your time in your space. It’s rewarding when you love it.”

If you’re new to buying art, she encourages you to seek it out wherever you can: museums, galleries, thrift stores, junk shops. Reflecting on the Fralin’s exhibitions, which are free and open to the public, she says, “You might be surprised by what art is.” But wherever you notice art, “You will start to recognize patterns of what you’re attracted to and identify your own tastes and inclinations. Then you can go in that direction when purchasing. Listen to your gut.”

But she also recommends selecting something that will hold your interest for the long-term. “I encourage people to buy art that challenges you a little, just enough that you keep looking at it. Challenging doesn’t mean you don’t love it. Maybe it means there’s something intriguing or mysterious about it.”

Once you know what you like, you can seek out similar pieces at a price point that complements your budget. She says that art fairs are a great place to buy, not to mention artists’ studios, which don’t have the markup that galleries do. But artists’ studios are not accessible to everyone, which is why you might hire a consultant. But then there are places like McGuffey Art Center that offer “a wide range of talents, and a wide variety of styles and media,” she says.

Once you have selected your art and are ready to incorporate it into your home, take some time to think about how you want to display it. The two most common causes for poorly displayed art, according to Schoenthal, are that people tend to hang their art too high and they don’t take the frame into account.   

“Reframing a work of art can be transformative,” she says.

Acquiring art is not a finite pursuit. Schoenthal says she is constantly rearranging, readjusting or tweaking the art and display of it in her own home. “Don’t be afraid to take something down if you’re not enjoying it anymore,” she says.

For it is, after all, about whether the art you have chosen enriches your experience of your home.

Shop smart

Rebecca Schoenthal says to seek art anywhere you can. Here are a few of her favorite local haunts.

• The Fralin Museum of Art
• Neal Guma Fine Art
• Chroma Projects
• Les Yeux du Monde Art Gallery
• The Garage

Until moving back to Charlottesville two years ago, designer Alexandra Bracey spent most of her life—professional and otherwise—in larger cities, having attended the New York School of Interior Design and working there as a senior designer for Alan Tanksley. No wonder, then, why the Washington, D.C., native says she’s more “city” than “country.”

“While I love some time in the country and exploring nature,” she says, “I want to be where the action, the good restaurants and the stores are.” But we get the feeling she’s not having any trouble making a home here in Charlottesville. The UVA alum and her husband, Dan, an architect, launched Bracey Designs earlier this year after Alex left local firm Stedman House.

We asked her to tell us her favorite design word, her least favorite design rule and her first design memory.—Caite White

Resides in: Charlottesville

Best known for: Eclectic and modern interiors.

Antique or modern?

A mix of both! A great room contains many layers and that’s best achieved by pulling from different styles. A modern sofa juxtaposed with the patina of an antique table or lamp creates a richer and more unique look.

Which colors do you gravitate toward?

Blues and oranges (and not just because I’m a UVA alum). I love cool, calm neutrals like blues and grays for basic pieces and wall colors but think it’s so important to introduce some pops of color in accessories.

Which materials or textures do you frequently use in your own home?

Throughout my house you’ll find textured linen basics, velvet for softness and luxe leather for some interest and tactile accessories. I think a contemporary crewel or embroidery on throw pillows or tactile art pieces introduce some unexpected flair.

What is your favorite interior design-related word?

Style, because it has so many uses. You can “style” a bookcase (a secret pleasure of mine), select a fabric or accessory with “style” and work within your clients’ “style.”

Does your home look like the one you grew up in?

While I have applied the comfort and warmth from my childhood home to my personal home and style, aesthetically it is quite different from the house I grew up in. But, as a designer, my house is constantly evolving.

What’s one thing that can really transform a room?

Good, soft lighting. Everything should be on a dimmer! The use of good lighting can play off of the natural light in a room and can help transform it for different uses (e.g. bright for a baby shower, dimmer for a cocktail party).

Favorite designer?

I love the work of Billy Baldwin, a true design pioneer. I am also inspired by many of the fantastic designers working today—Celerie Kemble and Jamie Drake are two favorites.

Which design blog, website, TV show or magazine do you peruse religiously?

Domaine Home is an absolute favorite site and I love Elle Décor. I get inspired by new products and ideas and what other designers are doing. I am also a huge fan of following other designers on Instagram.

Décor-wise, what should a homeowner never scrimp on?

Good upholstery. Inexpensive upholstery is often uncomfortable and does not hold up very well. It’s worth it to spend the money upfront so you don’t have to replace something every few years.

Design rule you like to break?

Scale. As far as I’m concerned, there are no rules when it comes to scale. Sometimes it’s important to introduce larger pieces where traditionally a small item is called for. I find this particularly true with coffee tables.

What is your favorite room in the house?

The den or library. While not a lot of people have the luxury of a dedicated den, when you do, it can be such a rich and special room. I love a den that features darker colors and leather, creating a comfortable and Old World vibe.

What do you wish you could do without?

The unattractive baby play mats and accessories that are taking over my house! I’m due in November with my first child (a girl!) and while I am going soft, neutral and contemporary in many places, I know that babies need that primary color stimulation.

What are you afraid to DIY?

Hang wallpaper. I have seen and heard too many horror stories.

Have you ever had a change of heart about an object or a style?

I have embraced the eclectic and the traditional. When I was in school I was strictly interested in contemporary and midcentury modern, but as I’ve evolved as a designer, I appreciate the incorporation of other styles and pieces to create a more interesting and personal home.

If you could live in one historical figure’s house, whose would it be?

Charles and Ray Eames’ California case study home. The Eames’ compact house, part of the case study experiment, has long been a favorite of mine. The compact multi-use function of the house and the incredible furnishings inside it would make it the perfect choice for me and my architect husband.

What is your most treasured possession?

The Gene Davis lithograph I inherited from my grandmother. Purchased from a local D.C. gallery, it hung in her townhouse until the day she moved out. Ever since I was a little girl, I admired the piece in her hallway and was so excited when it became mine. It’s now hanging in my kitchen and I get to admire the colorful vertical stripes every day and love that my grandmother was a pioneer in supporting local art.

On what movie set would you like to live?

The 1999 Thomas Crown Affair. I would relish living in his townhouse and/or on his island!

If you were reborn as a piece of furniture or an object, what would it be?

A great chandelier! I don’t think anything gets me as happy as seeing a wonderful, interesting light fixture illuminate a room.

What is your first design memory?

As soon as I could crawl I was interested in furniture. My parents called me “quality control,” as I was constantly pulling on furniture legs. As a toddler I pulled the leg off a family friend’s table.

Architects face an uncertain time. On one hand, we are in the fading era of famous designers, the “starchitects” who shaped discussion of what architecture should be—those who transcended typical barriers facing architecture by mastering the globalized market economy, delivering the ultimate branding strategy based on design to corporations and a wealthy elite. On the other hand, changing construction laws and risk structures in the United States have relegated architects to a reduced role in decision-making and design processes: Embracing specialization and safety has made architecture subservient to commercialized interests.

High-profile buildings push the boundaries of what was once thought possible in architecture. Changing laws and roles support a new marketplace that demands cost-effective speed and clarity of responsibility. But is this what the architect should be? Detached spacial sorcerer, deliberate risk-manager or subservient service provider—insurer of buildings built instead of ensurer of a built environment that sustains society for the long term? Who is left to serve the public realm?

In a time of continual crisis, society cannot rely on commercialization or perfecting existing systems to find solutions; around the world, 20th century institutions are fracturing, failing to adapt to challenges of constant change. New political, economic, environmental and societal relations are needed—but at its heart, a society needs to address how it lives. That reality directly shapes societal values and institutions—the responsibility of the architect, the built environment and the public realm are critical components in determining how we live.

At our best, architects can synthesize societal demands. We can take position in a society that demands leadership from those with our particular skill set: orchestrators of bold ideas with long-term outlooks, doers that have mastered collaboration to synthesize multiple expertise, innovative thinkers. Architects can make positive impacts in society, but decision-making power still lies too far outside our domain, so we must endeavor to develop methods of engagement with decision-makers at all levels to promote solutions to societal issues. These very methods are being pursued in the School of Architecture at UVA.

Five years ago, a research project was initiated in the School of Architecture for the Yamuna River in New Delhi, India. The Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers in the world and many of the city’s 25 million citizens rely on it daily. This crisis stemmed directly from institutional failure to manage growth, health, water and waste—significantly impacting the ability of New Delhi’s citizens to determine how they want to live. The School of Architecture decided to lead. Over time, sustained engagement, site visits, analysis, research and projects resulted in design solutions for the city that compelled interest from the highest decision-makers in India.

This year, the Delhi Jal Board (a municipal agency) signed a multiyear research agreement with the university to create The Yamuna Project. This unprecedented event seeks to generate transformational proposals for The Yamuna River and transcend traditional bureaucratic and political barriers. The architecture school will continue to lead the project and is expanding collaboration across the university with schools of public health, business, history, environmental sciences and politics.

There will always be a market for legitimate careers in architecture to design art objects or to be service providers. But opportunities are presenting themselves—and the desire from society exists—for those that wish to move beyond safe and established disciplinary boundaries.

So we rebel against the idea of the architect as the single-minded genius who designs perfect objects of consumer art. We rebel against the specialization of the architect to serve forces of commercialization. We hope this era is the death of the “Architect.” Decades of internal speculation in our field on the role of the architect in society is clarifying because of crisis—the rise of a new architecture in our era of uncertainty must continue.—Joseph Brookover

Joseph Brookover is the editor of Catalyst, the School of Architecture’s annual publication. He is pursuing a master of architecture.

Time was, when students at Charlottesville Catholic School wanted to do a science experiment, they’d have to contend with the elements.

“Students would be heating minerals over an open flame,” recalls Principal Michael Riley. “They’d use a Petri dish with an alcohol flame. They’d be doing it outside”—because there wasn’t a properly ventilated spot indoors—“and the slightest breeze would blow it out.”

With the winds of education shifting toward what Riley calls “inquiry-based, hands-on learning,” CCS wanted to equip students to excel in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects, and it was clear that the school needed a dedicated facility to do so. Safety was a priority when the school began working on a STEM addition with Train Architects, the firm that has designed each phase of the school since it was founded in the late ’90s.

As planning progressed, STEM turned to STEAM (A is for arts) and then to STREAM, as the new facility would also support R for religion. How? By keeping students’ presentations and performances out of the school chapel. “We weren’t having a sacred space in our chapel,” says Riley. With the addition featuring a dedicated public-speaking room on its lower level, the chapel could be used for religious activities only.

Essentially a long bar extending at a right angle from the rear of the existing school—which serves 330 students in grades kindergarten through eight—the addition sits on a slope that necessitated two stories. The upper floor contains two STEM classrooms connected by a central core, housing much-needed storage space and a fume hood for ventilation.

The classrooms, meanwhile, are modeled on typical high school chemistry classrooms, divided into lecture and experiment areas. Kids can listen to their teachers explain a concept, then move over to small-group workstations to look through a microscope and see science for themselves.

Architect Kirk Train says his firm’s aesthetic task was to make the addition conversant with, but clearly differentiated from, the older portions of the school. “Kids will understand that this is special, this is different,” says Train.

Subtle cues signal a shift when students pass into the STREAM wing. The window pattern gradually “breaks down,” Train says, as one moves further into the addition, as does the pattern of brick and concrete block on the addition’s exterior. “We kept a simple vocabulary and rhythm,” says Train.

The floor, too, changes from linoleum to concrete, an economical and green option.

Two new stairwells ease student traffic to and from the lower-floor lunchroom, and their railings are crayon-red to signal a place of movement. Warm brown walls and cherry ceiling panels delineate the “lobby” within the addition, where an elevator, stairwell and hallways come together.

The new performance space—located next door to a sound-dampened music classroom—features a low stage under a sloped ceiling, a clear sign to students that when they’re standing there, it’s time to speak up, something that might have been counterintuitive in the chapel. “If they have a part that’s loud or funny,” says Train, “they can do it and not feel restrained.”

Architect Cathy Purple Cherry started her practice, Purple Cherry Architects, in a 1,000-square-foot home with two children underfoot and two employees. Back then, as now, her focus was custom, luxury residential projects—the kind you’d see featured in home and garden magazines—and over the next few years, she hired more employees and expanded the work space to a 4,500-square-foot office on the gateway road to Maryland’s state capital building.

“The firms’s growing reputation in the community ultimately led to all kinds of design opportunities,” says Purple Cherry, “from residential to commercial work and restaurant to nonprofit work.”

In 2007, she broadened her focus. Drawing on her experience as the sister of a brother with Down syndrome and the mother of a son with autism, she launched Purposeful Architecture, an offshoot project that focuses specifically on creating spaces for people with special needs—keeping in mind things like sensitivity to colors or distractibility.

Currently Purple Cherry is working on building up a Charlottesville client base as she and her husband prepare to retire down south. We asked her about her practice—how it got started and what’s up next.—Caite White

Why architecture?

My mother was an artist. My father was an engineer. I always loved art and design since I was a little girl. I remember saving magazine and newspaper images in the old print days. I love the blend of art and math. This is architecture. I am passionate about both the outside of a building and the inside. I am committed to creating architecture that creates inspiration and serenity.

Why did you choose to practice in Virginia?

I was born in Virginia and lived in the state until I got married at 20. I have lived and practiced architecture in Annapolis for three decades, but my family roots are in Virginia. I am a mountain girl. I have been to the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge mountains hundreds of times; my heart belongs to Virginia. So, my husband and I decided to build our second home, and eventual retirement home, near Charlottesville. I am inspired by the landscape and excited by the beautiful estates in the area.

What was your childhood like and how did it lead you to design?

I was the sixth of eight children. I was born with fine arts ability. I began taking painting classes after school in the first grade. When I was in high school, I took AP art at the community college and painting at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. With my mother being artistic, we were always doing arts and crafts in the home. What led me to architecture was the fact that my mind is also strongly mathematical and builds things three-dimensionally. I love assembling beautiful millwork in my mind. I believe well-done architecture can influence positive emotions in our living environments.

Tell us about your college experience. Was there a standout teacher who had a lasting impact on you?

I went to the University of Colorado in Boulder for two years. Then I met my husband on a trip home. So, I stayed, got married and finished my degree at the University of Maryland in College Park. Because I was married while in the architecture program, I completed most of my studio projects at my home literally in the middle of the night. The pattern of working very early hours (3 or 4am) before my family woke up continued until about three years ago for over 25 years. While I was in school, computers were just becoming a part of our world. The architecture studio computer was the size of four refrigerators put together!

There was one teacher that I remember fondly. Ralph Bennett gave both pragmatic and constructive feedback in the studio and was able to see my talent and have faith in me.

On process: How does it begin?

For me, the process begins with a conversation with my clients. I ask and learn incredible details about their interests, their likes, their patterns, their desires and their wishes. During this conversation, I sketch in front of my clients while discussing possible room relationships and views, and discuss how these influence conversations, function and circulation patterns. We review imagery so that I can understand influencers and personal likes. After this initial project kickoff meeting, I freehand sketch small-scale plans and elevations. Because I see in my mind the minutest detail, you can see my small-scale sketches reflect these elements. And because I think three-dimensionally, you can see in my two-dimensional sketches that I already address roof lines and elevation decisions even though I have not drawn either.

What inspires you?

There are many things that inspire me, but the most significant things are elements in nature, beautiful details, historical fabric, my children and my faith. My older brother John was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth. I would say he had a lasting impact on my perspectives. I remember watching how he maneuvered around the built environment and being sensitive to the things that could be improved to help him. This was all before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was adopted. Then my husband and I adopted our first child, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 5, from Russia. Again, my design sensitivities to the built environment became even more honed. I think both of these influences made me more cognizant to everything in the environment.

What are you working on now?

We are excited to be doing many beautiful custom home estates. Each is stylistically very different. We are designing a large French provincial home, a contemporary city condominium, a new seven-structure $25 million Georgian estate, a Nantucket jewel box on a lake in Wisconsin, as well as several other custom homes. We are blessed to be working on projects from the very beginning of conception to the very end of the project, including interior furnishings. My firm focuses primarily on custom residential estates. I personally am also a special needs architect and consult on living and learning environments across the country. Purposeful Architecture is my studio focusing on this work. We also recently completed the new 14-bed Hospice of the Chesapeake for our community.