THIS HISTORIC MERCHANT MILL in the National Historic Landmark village of Waterford was built in about 1830. It has been used since the 1940s as the site of a popular annual craft fair and as a symbol of the village’s history and integrity. Constant inundation of the foundation by water from Catoctin Creek, has taken a toll on the building over many years. The first phase of the project consisted of a full historic structure report, analyzing the building’s form and condition in the light of its historic significance, and outlining a series of recommendations for returning it to the best condition for long-term preservation. The second phase, recently completed, made the structural and architectural adaptations needed to bring the recommendations to completion as a fully interpreted, safe, and engaging part of Waterford’s heritage. Actions included lowering the wheel pit to a level that would permit water to readily exit to the creek, reconstructing the massive timber hurst frame that supports the milling equipment, bringing the building up to code, and making nearly invisible improvements to the structural system.
Category: Historic Preservation
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.
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.
Sandy Hall Renovation
SANDY HALL, CONSTRUCTED IN 1924, is located adjacent to Virginia Tech’s Drillfield at the core of the University, and is one of the earliest buildings on campus. The 10,960-square-foot building previously served as temporary swing space for academic programs in transition, without any major renovation since its initial construction. Glavé & Holmes designed a matched pair of contextual additions for updated circulation as well as a total interior renovation of the original building. The renovated building provides critical program space for the School of Neuroscience, created in 2016, which now calls the building home. The School of Neuroscience, the first school of its kind in the United States, sought an interior environment that would stimulate casual but innovative interactions among students and faculty, facilitating spontaneous discovery of new ideas.
Reids’s Row Renovation
REID’S ROW is one of the earliest examples of Italianate architecture in Richmond, Virginia. The three bow front townhouses are located at 219-223 Governor Street near Richmond’s Capitol Square. The property, constructed in 1853 and designed by James Morson as a rental property, is now largely vacant. Reid’s Row is the only remaining evidence of the residential neighborhood that once surrounded Capitol Square and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The buildings have received various upgrades and general refurbishment; however, they have deteriorated significantly since vacancy.
The Department of General Services hired G&HA for the renovation and adaptive reuse of Reid’s Row. G&HA began the process with a historic assessment, which will help guide the careful repairs and upgrades to the historic property. The three buildings have a total floor area of approximately 24,000 square feet, which is split over four stories. One challenge has been determining how to provide accessible circulation between each building. The design team is working to strategically insert a new circulation spine and tower that will provide an accessible route to each floor. The renovated facility will provide offices and various spaces for use by the state government.
Davidson Hall Renovation
VIRGINIA TECH selected Glavé & Holmes for the renovation of three historic academic facilities on their campus, including Davidson Hall. This project rehabilitated the historic front section of Davidson Hall to provide a new administrative center for the Department as well as active learning classrooms.
The front section of Davidson Hall, covering 28,133 square feet, houses seven classrooms, in addition to multiple administrative and faculty offices for the Department of Chemistry. The building, which dates to the 1930s, received a full overhaul into a modern teaching-and-research building.
Visitors to Davidson Hall are welcomed by a new two-story atrium at the front entrance. The open atrium incorporates elements of both the traditional Collegiate Gothic and modern architecture styles seen throughout campus. Interior enhancements to the front section of the building include renovated classrooms, administrative and faculty offices, expanded A/V capabilities, modern furnishings, and a new collaborative scale-up classroom. The team fully renovated the building’s exterior and interior to remedy extensive egress and ADA deficiencies, deteriorated building systems, and flood plain vulnerability.
College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Building Renovation
GLAVÉ & HOLMES was hired by Virginia Tech for the renovation of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Building, originally constructed in 1899 as a YMCA building. The 14,314-square-foot building was one of the most outdated buildings on campus and received a comprehensive interior and exterior renovation. Interior upgrades include an elevator, new energy-efficient systems, modern furnishings, and enhanced technology. A 2,000-square-foot, four-story addition was added to the northwest side.
The renovation retained several historical features. A point of pride for the building’s original architecture was the discovery, during demolition, of a large archway. Through the years and the re-purposing of the building, previous efforts had enclosed the archway. Once rediscovered, the team restored and reinstalled the archway casework.
The building is now the administrative home to the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, housing both the Office of the Dean and the Center for Humanities.
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.
North Hall Upper School Renovation
THE VERITAS SCHOOL hired Glavé & Holmes Architecture for the renovation of North Hall (formerly DuBose Hall). This two-story structure, located at the head of the school’s central lawn, was built in 1952 as the administrative building for the Presbyterian School of Christian Education. Veritas desired to reinforce the building’s key position as the home of the Upper School, while creating dynamic learning environments and offices for Upper School students, teachers, and administrators. The building serves as a welcoming “front porch” to the campus and is the principal venue for ceremonies such as graduation. Distinctive interior improvements include a new two-story lobby lined with classical details executed in finely crafted plaster, featurimg Ionic pilasters incorporating the school’s lion mascot, a modillion cornice, and an elegant coved ceiling. Elaborate, classically designed door frames emphasize the importance of each classroom as the seat of learning. Additional components of this project included updates to all mechanical and safety systems, new restrooms, and ADA accessibility.
Sweet Briar House
GLAVÉ & HOLMES ARCHITECTURE provided interior design services and an updated historic structures report for the rehabilitation of the historic Sweet Briar House at Sweet Briar College. The House, originally built in 1790, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as the residence of the College’s President. The three-story brick structure is approximately 10,400 square feet.
The scope of the interior design work included updating interior finishes within the first-floor public areas of the historic house, representing approximately 3,000 sf of area and the second floor public spaces and circulation corridors, representing approximately 3,000 sf of area. Work also included the reconfiguration of toilet rooms, kitchen and ancillary spaces in support of the public areas and structural analysis of the floor system in the second floor library. All interior work was completed according the Department of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Treatments convey an appropriate look consistent with the resource’s period of significance. The overall goal was to create a coherent, visual appearance and interpretation for the first floor public areas consistent with the high stature of the House.