It was autumn, and I had just moved to Charlottesville late that summer to embark upon the second phase of architecture school. I was thrilled, humbled, and full of optimism. Back then, I kept a paper map of North Carolina in my car. It had torn edges, crisp, hair-thin folds, and palimpsest markings of journeys […]
It was autumn, and I had just moved to Charlottesville late that summer to embark upon the second phase of architecture school. I was thrilled, humbled, and full of optimism. Back then, I kept a paper map of North Carolina in my car. It had torn edges, crisp, hair-thin folds, and palimpsest markings of journeys […]
When Bethany and Mike Puopolo bought their acreage south of Ash Lawn-Highland, she embarked on a paradox. In designing a home, Bethany began with the image of a temporary structure: “a camp or a revival tent, something very plain and very simple.” She and her family have now occupied this “camp” for nearly a quarter-century, […]
It’s a luxury to imagine, then create, a playground—not only for children but for adults of many recreational persuasions. That is just what Brooke Spencer and her partner, Kim Cory, did at a Free Union property whose 97 rolling acres include mountain views, mature oak trees, and a spring-fed pond. Its present owners bought it […]
Cars rush along a busy street near downtown Charlottesville, bowing day lilies that cluster beside the driveway of Chad and Rebecca Morgan’s early 20th-century home. But when you stand in the heart of the kitchen—a straight shot from the sidewalk through the front door and down the hallway—you could be a million miles from anywhere. […]
In the heart of Earlysville sits a fine brick ranch at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in the Earlysville Heights neighborhood. Fifteen minutes from Charlottesville and five minutes to Hollymead Town Center, this home currently features three bedrooms and one-and-a-half baths. We asked Troy Yancey of Teal Construction to give us his contractor’s expertise […]
Central Virginia is paradise compared to the parched, burning lands of California, Texas, Nevada, and Oklahoma. Here on the verdant side of the great river, our groundwater is replenished and streams run high, but everybody has to worry about water in the 21st century. The click-click-click of irrigation heads keeping time for twilit suburban idylls […]
There is a long out of print volume published by Princeton Architectural Press in 1992. Its spare black and white pages brought together a seminal collection of 18 highly individualized and speculative or research driven houses designed entirely by what was then the faculty of the University of Virginia School of Architecture. Now 22 years […]
Fred Wolf grew up as one of six children in a modest Buffalo, New York house, where, when he wasn’t sketching, he was inventing and building. In high school, he discovered architecture, and he hasn’t looked back since. In addition to reminiscing about his childhood, the Wolf Ackerman partner told us about architecture school at […]
Stedman House designer Kori Messinger talked to us about designing a room at age 10, the color red, and being authentic to yourself while breaking the rules. Have you ever had a change of heart about an object or style? Of course! As our household has grown with four kids and lots of animals, so […]