On Architecture


Talking the walk: Is Antiquer's Mall salvageable? Published on Dec 8th, 2005 0 comments In a recent full-page advertisement in the Daily Progress, the new owners of the Riverside Mall, more popularly known as Antiquer's Mall, announced a "Stop, Shop, & Stroll Day." Under the...
Streetcar desire: Road rail our next big thing? Published on Dec 1st, 2005 0 comments In Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire, the vehicle, like all good literary metaphors, is both real and a symbol. It brings the brutish Stanley Kowalski home with his slab of meat and...
Childless city: Seeing N'awlins as a phoenix Published on Nov 24th, 2005 0 comments "Imagine a city without children," says New Orleans based architect Stephen Bingler, conjuring an image out of The Twilight Zone. "Recently I drove around New Orleans for four hours," he says...
Court flair: Is it worth $2.7 million? Published on Nov 17th, 2005 0 comments When it comes to revitalizing public places in Charlottesville, the standard set by the Downtown Mall raises the bar for every other project in town. In June, The Project for Public Spaces, a...
Rising Sun: Solar makes a comeback! Published on Nov 10th, 2005 0 comments In the Hook's May 2005 cover story about Carter-era solar technology, we asked whether solar can make a "Cher-like comeback in Charlottesville, or is it doomed to loll in obscurity like the Captain...
Playing a-ground: When architects tackle a park Published on Nov 3rd, 2005 0 comments If all goes according to plan, tiny McGuffey Park– on the corner of High and Second Street NW– is poised to become Charlottesville's first postmodern playground, a kind of "living...
Bor-ing: Architects blast UVA vision Published on Oct 6th, 2005 0 comments Earlier this year, UVA parted company with the architectural firm working on the South Lawn project. Now, a scathing rebuke of the Board of Visitors for indulging in architectural "mediocrity" has...
Architecture Matters Published on Sep 22nd, 2005 0 comments On September 12, architect Peter Eisenman delivered a speech at Cornell University entitled "Architecture Matters." If the current dust-up about Charlottesville's recent additions– the Pavilion...
Cruz control: How Katrina will reshape borders Published on Sep 8th, 2005 0 comments Devastation in the Gulf Region and grander ideas about urban identity may seem like odd bedfellows but they are inextricably tied. The infrastructure of New Orleans, the focus of post-hurricane...
Dense debate: Rugby-Venable balks at controls Published on Sep 2nd, 2005 0 comments Development and preservation have long been at odds. In the opening days of summer, Charlottesville's Board of Architectural Review (BAR) proposed that the Rugby Road, University Circle, and Venable...
Earth craft: The greening of 10th & Page Published on Aug 25th, 2005 0 comments Driving down 10th Street, you may have noticed the new technicolor homes at the intersection of Page Street. They're covered in pumpkin, periwinkle, cranberry, and canary siding. But they're actually...
Pergola pandemic: Sticking foolishness to the wall Published on Aug 18th, 2005 0 comments If it's good enough for the Medici family, it's good enough for Charlottesville. Or is it? The new Target and the new John Paul Jones Arena have both adopted the pergola as an iconic statement. But...
Pavilion patrimony: World's largest lobster trap Published on Jul 28th, 2005 0 comments Charlottesville's new Pavilion is days away from officially opening. We will all marvel at the increased capacity, the sheer mass of canvas and truss, and the aching ballads of Loretta Lynn on July...
Prone to please: Habitat picks green affordability Published on Jul 21st, 2005 0 comments The past two years have been uncertain for 18 families in the Sunrise Trailer Court. The 2.3-acre site located in lower Belmont, aka "Hogwaller," was for sale in a neighborhood known for ever-...
Pei's position: 'Naturalizer' champions change Published on Jul 14th, 2005 0 comments The United States has been kind to I.M. Pei. He has completed 40 buildings in no less than 23 American cities, where they often occupy the most prominent locations. Pei's contributions to the...
Suburban incursion: Close, but no neighborhood Published on Jul 7th, 2005 0 comments Architect Louis Kahn's famous aphorism about a brick wanting to be an arch was ignored by the creators of Walker Square. The new apartment complex on West Main Street is as rhythmic as an air-horn...
Tender subject: Would TJ order brick? Published on Jun 30th, 2005 0 comments Sure, Chick-Fil-A tastes good, but the more local question is "Will it look good?" At the Architectural Review Board meeting June 20, a new Chick-Fil-A was unveiled to the county's tastemakers. For...
ON ARCHITECTURE- Western migration? 'Workforce' funds might slow the exodus Published on Jan 1st, 2014 0 comments One of the cruel ironies of Charlottesville's booming real estate market over the last decade is that the people who keep the popular city humming−nurses, teachers, firefighters, police...
ON ARCHITECTURE- Re-sizing the dream: Big ideas about small houses Published on Jan 1st, 2014 5 comments In our age of rising energy and housing costs– not to mention growing worries about the environment– people across the globe are not only going green, they're getting small. Real small....
ON ARCHITECTURE- BZA showdown: Felled tree, scorned neighbors Published on Jan 1st, 2014 0 comments Not many folks would consider an evening with the Charlottesville Board of Zoning Appeals a hot date, but there could be some real fireworks at the October 21 session, as two of the year's most...