Curry School of Education, Bavaro Hall

Project Details

Project Description

Entering its third century in 2020, University of Virginia (UVA) positions its campus for continued growth and success as it continues the vision of its founder, Thomas Jefferson, for an “academical village” in which learning would be an integral part of daily life. Contributing to UVA’s enduring vision and the architectural tradition established by Jefferson, Kolbe‘s windows and doors are featured on several campus buildings including the renovated Rouss Hall and Monroe Hall, and the new LEED® Gold certified Bavaro Hall.

“Kolbe established a reputation with UVA for being able to accommodate all types of products on many different projects,” explains Tom Sanders, general manager of Shenandoah Sash and Door. “The buildings from Jefferson’s time were designed with extremely tall windows to maximize both the natural light and ventilation. Some of the oldest buildings on campus have triple hung windows where the sash could be positioned in the middle of the opening to promote cross ventilation, or positioned at the top of the opening to function as a doorway.”

Sanders continues, “For Rouss Hall and Monroe Hall, Kolbe’s Old World Classic windows mimicked this look and operation exceptionally well. For Bavaro Hall, historically styled, double hung windows present a similar style and functionality in a newly constructed space.”

With the completion of Bavaro Hall for the 2010-11 academic year, the Curry School of Education has a facility consistent with both UVA’s architectural and academic heritage and twenty-first century environmental goals. Today, the new four-story Bavaro Hall includes 55 faculty offices, 10 conference rooms, five specialized program area suites, four administrative suites, a multipurpose room for lectures, meetings, and special events, and a two-story atrium designed as a central gathering area. Encompassing 65,000 square feet, Bavaro Hall nearly doubles the school’s workspace and enables it to house in a single complex faculty, educational research professionals, students and publicly accessible clinics.

Easily recognizable, the new Bavaro Hall was designed by Darden School architect Robert A.M. Stern. The firm describes the project as: “Located on a steeply sloped site on Emmet Street, at the western perimeter of the University of Virginia’s historic Central Grounds, Bavaro Hall features simple massing and traditional detailing – red brick and limestone façades with painted wood trim, six-over-six double-hung windows, and metal standing-seam roof – to present a fresh face that is in keeping with the architectural traditions first established at the Lawn by Thomas Jefferson.”