It’s hard to believe anything can be too ugly for Pantops. Though an official entrance corridor, the road presents a series of strip malls and car dealerships to impress the out-of-towners with the area’s stunning beauty. Yet the road is under the purview of the Albemarle County Architectural Review Board (ARB), and at their October 1 meeting, the ARB voted unanimously to deny an application for an addition to the Montessori Community School.
 Montessori School architects created this rendering to show what the addition is intended to look like from the viewpoint of a car entering Pantops. |
The biggest issue is about how the building looks. Designed to meet "green" Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and serve educational purposes for the K-8 students, the new building has a slanted roof to collect rainwater (used for toilets) and let in sunlight. The building is part of a master plan to expand the school, currently operated out of an old manor house and temporary trailers on one of Pantops’ highest points. But the ARB didn’t think the proposed building fit in with the existing house, in large part because of a single slope roof that does not face the highway.
"It’s a very prominent location, and the perspective will be looking up at it," says Candace Smith, an architect and ARB member. "In this particular case, there were minimal, if any, changes from the first [ARB] presentations. We were very clear that we were concerned about the building and the landscaping from the first meeting."
"I think it was a little modern for that site, with that adjoining building, than the other members would like," says Paul Wright, chairman of the ARB. "These people have done things for really great reasons that we applaud, but we think it can be done better. How energy efficient a building is isn’t in our criteria. It’s unfortunate, but we’ve been charged by the supervisors to deal with the aesthetics of the entrance corridor."
 ARB member Candace Smith is concerned that this view with landscaping is misleading and only represents a few days out of the year. |
The school is appealing the ruling to the Board of Supervisors. "Our goal isn’t to create a conflict, but to talk about this, to understand," says school Principal Wendy Fisher. "I believe going into the future that if indeed Albemarle County does want to further its comprehensive master plan, that these guidelines need to be either clarified or talked through to understand what they really mean, because there’s no way to truly do sustainable design without rethinking the aesthetic of it. Form and function cannot be separated from one other. You can’t say I’m doing sustainable building and have embellishments and have lots of things on your building that have no function, because that’s the very opposite of sustainability."
Smith says that LEED and attractive design don’t have to conflict and that had they simply reversed the direction the building faces, it might have been approved. "Just some nod to traditional architecture where you could get some glimpse of the roof."
The Montessori School has pushed back its scheduled opening of the new addition to the the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. "It’s like telling some really nice little kid you can’t have your puppy," Wright says. "You feel really bad about it, but at the same time I take the job really seriously."
The appeal before the Board of Supervisors is slated for December 5.
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