Project Details
From the May 2019 Issue of ARCHITECT:
The centerpiece of Thomas Jefferson’s Academical Village gets a refresh for the 21st century.
Rarely has the combined weight of history, technical risk, and public expectation been borne so lightly as by New York’s John G. Waite Associates (JGWA) in its restoration of the University of Virginia’s famed Rotunda—the centerpiece of its Charlottesville, Va., campus. Designed by Thomas Jefferson and completed in 1826, the building—formerly the university library, and now an events and exhibition space and home to a few much-envied classrooms—is a keystone of American design, and one of only three U.S. buildings to be named a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a sophisticated, if flawed, piece of architectural craftsmanship—it was the victim first of a fire in the 19th century and then of a problematic renovation in the 1970s. The use of slave labor for its original construction also makes it a lightning rod for controversy.
Following a thorough two-year research endeavor, JGWA embarked on a multi-pronged process that included strengthening, cleaning, and enhancing the building, as well as returning it, as much as possible, to Jefferson’s original vision. From repointing the brick, to building an underground mechanical plant, to putting in new marble columns, new moldings, and a new roof, the designers have pulled off an act that almost amounts to an architectural resurrection, leaving the building sturdier and safer for future generations of students and teachers. Future restorers will be grateful as well, thanks to the team’s scrupulous documentation of their interventions.
So careful were the restorers that their project ended up being in itself an act of archaeology, with the construction process unearthing tools that have provided specialists with invaluable new insights into the men who built the campus and the means they used. A few of these finds have even been exhibited inside the Rotunda itself, making the newly refurbished building a true testament—inside and out—to its own varied and complex history.
Project Credits
Project: The Rotunda at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
Client: Office of the Architect, University of Virginia (UVa) . David J. Neuman, FAIA, Alice J. Raucher, AIA, (architects for the university), Brian Hogg (senior historic preservation planner); Facilities Planning and Construction, Facilities Management, UVa . Donald E. Sundgren (associate vice president and chief facilities officer), Jody Lahendro, FAIA (supervisory historic preservation architect), Stephen Ratliff (supervisory senior construction administration manager), James Zehmer, Sarita Herman (historic preservation project managers), Mark Kutney (architectural conservator)
Architect/Interior Designer: John G. Waite Associates, Architects, New York, and Albany, N.Y. . John G. Waite, FAIA (senior principal); Clay S. Palazzo, AIA (principal-in-charge); Matthew K. Scheidt, AIA (project manager); William Brandow, Shannon Brown, AIA, Douglas Bucher, Stephanie Campbell, Chelle Jenkins, Jessica Lankston, AIA, Meghan Lauver, Amanda Lewkowicz, Aaron Opalka, Katherine Onufer, AIA, Matson Roberts, Edward Sehl, Amanda Villela, David Weirick, AIA (project team)
Acoustician: Cerami & Associates
Archaeologist: Rivanna Archaeological Services
Architectural Historian: Mount Ida Press
Civil Engineer: Dewberry
Cost Estimator: Nasco Construction Services
Elevator Consultant: Van Deusen & Associates
Exhibit Design: Riggs Ward Design
Fire Protection/Building Code Consultant: Jensen Hughes
Furnishings Consultant: Glavé & Holmes Architecture
Geotechnical Engineer: Froehling & Robertson
Land Surveyor: Lincoln Surveying
Landscape Architect: Olin
Lighting Design: Available Light
Masonry Conservation Consultant: Frances Gale
M/E/P/FP Engineer: Kohler Ronan
Metal Conservation Consultant: Andrew Lins
Plaster Conservation Consultant: Conservation Solutions
Structural Engineer: 1200 Architectural Engineers; Robert Silman Associates
Construction Manager: Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
Clock Restoration Consultant: Bob Desrochers
Electrician: IES Commercial & Industrial
Lighting Restoration: Crenshaw Lighting
Mechanical Contractor: Riddleberger Brothers
Plaster Conservation: John Canning & Co.
Plasterer: Interior Specialty Construction
Roofing: W.A. Lynch Roofing Co.
Sheet Metal Restoration: American Stripping Co.
Stone Installation: Rugo Stone
Stone Sculpture Studio: Pedrini Mario & Co.
Window and Masonry Restoration: Centennial Preservation Group
Wood Carving and Capital Fabrication: Tektonics Design Group
Size: 35,805 square feet
Cost: $50 million
This project won a 2019 AIA Institute Honor Award for Architecture.
This restoration of the symbolic center of the University of Virginia—widely considered Thomas Jefferson’s single most important architectural achievement—relies on the highest level of historic preservation and building conservation care. Envisioned by Jefferson as a temple for learning, but largely relegated to administrative and ceremonial use, the Rotunda is once again a focus of university life.
The team began the project, commissioned to celebrate the Rotunda’s 200th anniversary, with a thorough historic structure report and measured drawings in order to study and understand the original design and the changes made over time. The structure was severely compromised in a catastrophic 1895 fire that left only its brick walls standing. Later, Stanford White attempted to replicate Jefferson’s design and intent but significantly altered the interior volumes. A poorly funded and researched renovation in the 1970s further compromised it.
The project tapped into some of the most advanced conservation measures available. A leaking roof was replaced with a copper one while specialist contractors cleaned, stabilized, and repointed the brick walls. The building’s exterior metal moldings, dating from the 1890s, were restored, and the deteriorated replacement column capitals on the north and south porticos were replaced with Carrara marble capitals that accurately replicate Jefferson’s originals.
Inside, the architects restored Jefferson’s volumes, finishes, and architectural details on all three floors. In the dome room, acoustic plaster replaced the perforated aluminum ceiling while cast plaster column capitals from the 1970s were replaced by ones of carved wood, again echoing Jefferson’s original intent. The project’s least noticed but perhaps most important element is the construction of a new mechanical, service, and storage space contained in a vault that was excavated beneath the east courtyard.
During the renovation, a chemical hearth dating to the 19th century was unearthed on the ground floor, the only trace of the original chemistry facility. Freed from its tomb, it is now the star of an exhibition that celebrates Jefferson’s Academical Village.
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
JGWA was the architect for the comprehensive interior and exterior renovation and restoration of Thomas Jefferson’s Rotunda, the iconic centerpiece of the University of Virginia’s Academical Village.
Deteriorating building conditions forced the university to develop a plan for long-deferred repairs to the Rotunda. A historic structure report (HSR), along with measured drawings, was prepared between 2006 and 2008 to study the building and to better understand the design, history and technology of the original construction and changes over time. Those changes included the original construction in 1823-1828 through the erection of the annex in 1854, the great fire of 1895, and two subsequent restoration campaigns. The report outlined existing conditions and made recommendations for the Rotunda’s renovation and restoration, serving as a master plan for the restoration.
This report led to the preparation of detailed construction documents for the $50 million project. Exterior restoration began in 2012 and later that year construction work commenced on the terrace covering the wings and the south portico stairway. Major disassembly allowed structural repairs and the installation of a new waterproofing system. The restoration project updated all building systems; created a new underground mechanical vault, enhanced service facilities; and improved access and circulation.
A series of programming recommendations were developed to bring the building back into the mainstream of university life, and a pilot program was devised by the university to re-introduce teaching and study space in the building. During the pilot program evaluation, in the year before the building closed for renovation, 108,000 people entered the Rotunda. 170,500 people have entered the building in the first nine months since the building reopened in September, 2016; and sixty-nine classes have been taught in three dedicated classrooms.
JGWA was uniquely qualified to undertake the project given their three decades of experience working on significant historic buildings at the University. That experience began with the preparation of an HSR for Pavilion I in 1988 and followed by reports for five more of the Pavilions; Varsity Hall (1857-58), one of the earliest surviving college infirmaries in the United States; and the McKim, Mead, and White-designed classroom buildings, Cocke and Rouss Halls.
Recently JGWA completed an HSR for Jefferson’s Pavilion IX, used to guide the restoration of the building.
JGWA also completed an extensive ADA study suggesting ways of providing a barrier free environment for the entire Academical Village while retaining the historic integrity of the buildings and site.
In addition, JGWA completed the roof restoration of buildings in the West and East Ranges, as well as an HSR and roof restoration for Hotel D on the East Range.
The firm continues to work at the University, and is restoring Pavilion VIII on the Grounds following the completion of a comprehensive HSR and in the coming months will begin the multi-million dollar restoration of Carr’s Hill, the University President’s residence which will also include a new events pavilion.
