Scott Shipp Hall Renovation and Addition

Scott Shipp Hall (c1918), is one of the core academic classroom buildings at the Virginia Military Institute. This facility, originally constructed in 1918 and expanded in 1955, serves the Institute’s academic programs in the Liberal Arts including the departments of English, International Studies, Economic/Business, Modern Languages, and History. With the Corp of Cadets growing at VMI, G&HA was commissioned to complete a rehabilitation and expansion of the facility, including renovation and rehabilitation of approximately 66,840-square-feet, and a five-story 28,000-square-foot addition. Work included a complete redesign of the 1955 wing while restoring much of the original 1918 character. The new addition is designed with a compatible Gothic Revival style to match the original structure and the overall character of VMI’s academic facilities.

The building includes five stories on a heavily sloping site and is located on a key corner of the main access road through the Post. Among the challenges in the project included developing a phasing plan to allow a portion of the building to remain operational for classes throughout the project construction. The compact site area also required careful design consideration to integrate the facility and create better accessibility for the facility, without impacting the adjacent Letcher Avenue or overwhelming surrounding facilities. The facility includes the addition of new classrooms, interactive learning spaces, faculty offices, a photo lab, and significant new space for Cadet study areas. A new Front Entry Terrace will serve as the review stand for Cadet leadership to review the daily parade of Cadets down Letcher Avenue. New technology has been integrated throughout the project to provide state-of-the-art learning spaces for the next generation of VMI Cadets.

Liberty Trust Hotel

In the revitalized downtown district of Roanoke Virginia, Glavé & Holmes Architecture worked with Balzer & Associates to design the adaptive re-use of an iconic 1910 bank building. 52 keys will be built into this 8-story building of just under 40,000-square-feet and includes a grand lobby space with a bar, lounge, and social space. G&HA built off of the identity of the structure, integrating historic bank-oriented design accents into contemporary and elegant guest rooms. With details varying from “bank passbook” room cards to local Roanoke signage, a unique experience welcomes each guest.

The grand lobby has been reimaged as a new destination in Roanoke for coffee, cocktails, and light meals. While the project does not accommodate a full-service kitchen, we worked with local restaurateurs to develop a menu that cooperates with the local food and drink scene, rather than compete with it. We continue to work with the development team and with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources on this tax-credit-eligible project.

Carr’s Hill Rehabilitation

Designed by architect Stanford White and constructed in 1909, Carr’s Hill is home to the President of the University of Virginia and provides meeting and entertainment space for University events. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register, this signature historic property has been renovated for the first time. Glavé & Holmes, in collaboration with Associated Architects John G Waite Associates,  prepared a feasibility study to provide programming and a site study for a new entertainment pavilion. The study included site analysis, massing studies and the development of a site plan. The team was subsequently awarded the full project to restore the exterior and interior of the historic house, as well as provide outdoor event space.

The renovation work was designed and executed to high preservation standards and in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. The landscape was also sensitively redesigned to support events in an unobtrusive way. The goal was to minimize permanent change to significant features of the buildings and site while making it more functional for modern use. Restoration design was also completed for the out-buildings located on the Carr’s Hill site.

Carr’s Hill was awarded first place for Historic Preservation at the IIDA Virginia & West Virginia Chapter/ASID IDEAS Awards, AIA Virginia’s Excellence in Design Historic Preservation Honor Award as well as the Historic Preservation Merit Award from AIA Richmond. This project is LEED Certified.

Trible Library Expansion

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY (CNU) selected Glavé & Holmes for the expansion and renovations to the Trible Library. The existing library was a compilation of four different decades of construction; the original 1966 one-story library, an addition in 1978, another addition in 1993, and a major addition and renovation in 2008. This project needed to remove portions of the building, renovate major sections of the earliest building, and add a large addition. In addition, the existing library contained only 200 seats and the University wanted to increase seating to over 1,000.

Modern university libraries have evolved into much more than repositories for books. G&HA helped transition the facility into a 24/7 student-focused study center, complete with an updated coffee shop, expanded media center, extensive technologies, a lecture hall, reading/study rooms and state-of-the-art archival storage and archives library.

The most dramatic addition was a new two-story Reading Room. Locating it on the second floor allowed this central feature to be flooded with natural light from the library’s cupola and skylights concealed within roof wells. This iconic, three-bay room surrounded by balconies flows out to three outdoor reading terraces. This room, named the Rosemary Trible Reading Room, and the newly renovated spaces that surround it, has become an immediate success with students who occupy the building at all hours of the day and night, fulfilling the hopes of CNU’s library staff and administration.

Madison Hall Renovation

GLAVÉ & HOLMES ARCHITECTURE renovated the nearly 70,000 sf building that previously housed the Rockingham Memorial Hospital Cancer Center, for use as a new Admissions Office for James Madison University. The building was constructed in 1989 as a clinical annex to the hospital. The project consisted of a full interior renovation as well as restorative work to the exterior envelope. Additionally, a new colonnade with a tower and a pavilion was provided to create a welcoming entry to the building.

The renovated facility houses the Admissions Office, the Center for Assessment and Research Studies, the Graduate School and the Office of International Programs. The conversion of the previous nuclear medicine area provided a nuclear laboratory for the Physics department. The new design provides faculty and staff offices, meeting rooms, small scale academic spaces, and other mixed uses serving the needs of the University.

Fort Monroe Visitor and Education Center

FORT MONROE is a National Monument managed by the Fort Monroe Authority (FMA) in collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS). Glavé & Holmes Architecture recently completed the conversion of Building 138 at Fort Monroe into a new Visitor Center. Building 138, also known as Wisser Hall, was originally built in 1909 as a military library and is a contributing structure to the Fort Monroe National Historic Landmark District.

This project is a unique example of a State and Federal collaboration at this significant historic site. The Visitor Center welcomes visitors to Fort Monroe and orients them to the significant history of this property in addition to providing a welcome center for NPS staff to greet visitors to the National Monument. As a key component of the new permanent exhibit, this building tells the story of the arrival of the first African slaves in the continental U.S. to the site of Fort Monroe (Point Comfort) in 1619 and connects that story to the “Contraband of War” decision in 1861 that eventually led approximately 10,000 enslaved people to obtain their emancipation at Fort Monroe. The visitor center builds upon the additional historical exhibits in the Casemate Museum and entices visitors to the museum using the postern gate into the original masonry Fort. The new Visitor Center contains visitor facilities, a staffed visitor desk, exhibits, classrooms and archival storage space.  A new addition makes the building fully accessible, by adding a new elevator and grade level entry for visitors.

The Spa at Colonial Williamsburg

GLAVÉ & HOLMES ARCHITECTURE (G&HA) was commissioned to adapt and reuse the former Rockefeller Folk Art Museum into a new spa and fitness center to serve the Williamsburg Inn and the Williamsburg Lodge. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s goal to provide and enhance amenities in this vintage two-building complex serves the needs of tourists and business travelers. Extensive interior renovations were required to convert these structures into a 4-star luxury spa. Working in conjunction with WTS International Spa Consultants, the new spa includes 12 treatment rooms, expansive wet room amenities in all locker rooms, a salon, and fitness areas for equipment and group fitness. An existing sunken garden, pool, and other surrounding elements were incorporated into this renovation.

Robert H. Smith Center at Montalto

ORIGINALLY DESIGNED in 1903 by Philadelphia architect Charles Barton Keene, Montalto was adapted and expanded by Glavé & Holmes Architecture (G&HA) to provide multiple new functions including a meeting space, teleconferencing center, accommodations for visiting dignitaries, and an event space. The new facility has become the “upper campus” for the Monticello property; it houses the executive Board Room for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and creates a world-class extension of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies.

To achieve the ambitious program, Montalto underwent a complete restoration of the interior and exterior and now features the design of two sympathetic additions. The front façade, restored to its historic appearance, showcases the distinctive Ludowici tile roof in its original color, restoration of the original stone masonry, and rehabilitation of
the original historic windows. An entirely new landscape design
has been incorporated to provide parking, outdoor terraces, and event space that blends into the natural splendor of the hilltop site overlooking Charlottesville. A state-of-the-art catering kitchen avails the center to be used for events, lectures, and weddings. New infrastructure and technology systems and the interior design and selection of all furniture, fixtures, and equipment complete the scope.

The project achieved LEED-Silver certification.

Office of Admissions Renovation

GLAVÉ & HOLMES ARCHITECTURE (G&HA) renovated and altered the former Old Bookstore at the College of William & Mary to serve as the new location for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. This office serves as the “front door” to the university, introducing prospective students and their parents to the College. The design includes a 300-seat sessions room to facilitate the orientation process, conference rooms, offices, and administrative support spaces. The design respects the architectural and cultural context of the College, while also effectively communicating that the College is progressively prepared to meet the challenges and expectations of education in the twenty-first century.

Mississippi Museum of Art

GLAVÉ & HOLMES ARCHITECTURE (G&HA) served as the museum consultant and design architect for the Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA). The museum wished to become a demonstrable leader in the international trend of museums becoming more accessible, participatory, and relevant in their communities. The new building, in accord with the MMA’s commitment to community interaction and personal experience, serves as a model for mid-sized museums whose architecture embodies their mission to engage the community in and through the visual arts.

The result includes new exhibit areas, gift shop, a café, studio school, collections area, and administrative spaces. From jazz programs in the café to performances and presentations in the galleries and the sculpture garden, the MMA attracts people to downtown Jackson and plays a vital role in its revitalization.

The Mississippi Museum of Art was designed in association with Madge Bemiss Architect of Richmond, Virginia, and Dale and Associates of Jackson, Mississippi.