Passing the test: Educational company bets on tech, wins big

How do you get kids to learn math and science? It’s a question that has vexed many a teacher, but Charlottesville-based ExploreLearning has some pretty good answers. Founded in 1999 by UVA math Ph.D. David Shuster, the company develops online learning tools that are now used around the country. The key, says EL’s Tammy Weisman, […]

Global workers, local business: With help from the IRC, local companies hire refugees

Refugees flee violence and persecution to rebuild their lives—and careers—in new places, and over the years, the Charlottesville area has been the initial home for more than 3,500 refugees from 32 countries. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps them integrate into the workforce by partnering with local businesses. Design Electric, a 250-person company that builds […]

Lucky find: A vintage house brings two DIY-ers to Orange

Tonda and Mark Morriss had renovated several houses before, and they swore they were done with all that. They also thought they would downsize when they moved from Texas five years ago to be near their daughter and her family—they dreamed of a one-level house with less property to care for. “We did the opposite,” […]

Inn and out: The Clifton plays it cool

When Charles D’Angelo, managing director of D.C.-based Westmount Capital Group, first saw the Clifton Inn and its surrounding countryside, his initial thought was, “Wow.” “It’s a stunning property, from the 19-acre lake and Blue Ridge mountain views to the infinity pool with the canopy of trees overhead,” says D’Angelo. As a business enterprise, however, the […]

Adding structure: The garden at Waterperry gains a house of glass

Katherine Kane had always imagined a greenhouse in a certain spot at her magnificent garden at Waterperry Farm in western Albemarle. And not just for sheltering plants. “There are two kinds of greenhouses,” says architect Jeff Bushman, who customized the kit that Kane bought from the English company Alitex. “There are purely service buildings, and […]

River of dreams: Designing for flow in a Belmont backyard

Tucked behind a 1920s-era house on a small Belmont lot lies a modern wonder: a water garden oasis featuring ornamental plantings, a raised deck surrounded by a black slate patio, a hand-carved fire pit and a mountainous stone structure from which a waterfall cascades gently into a tiered, purling river. The landscape plan was dreamed […]