Drawing on History: Infill Design Competition Winners and Notable Submissions

Pages from Svensen_Kevin_Option1

RICHMOND, VA June 23, 2016— If you love to explore Richmond’s historic neighborhoods, you’ve probably noticed vacant lots and new construction. What does it mean to build new within an existing urban neighborhood that has both historic significance and a distinct identity? Join in the conversation as you peruse design ideas specifically created for two of Richmond’s growing areas — Union Hill and Jackson Ward in Drawing on History: Infill Design Competition at The Branch Museum of Architecture and Design now through Sunday, September 4.

Historic Richmond and The Branch partnered first in the design competition Drawing on History and now the exhibition featuring 16 prize winning and notable submissions. “What’s fun is you can see all the different solutions to this challenge,” says The Branch Museum Director Dr. Craig Reynolds. “Competitors considered issues including historic context, sustainability, affordability and each neighborhood’s unique sense of place. The artistic submissions are thoughtful and show wide variety of possibilities.”

“We recognize the challenge of addressing contemporary needs within neighborhoods that care deeply for the integrity of the historic character and feeling of their buildings and streetscapes,” says Historic Richmond Executive Director Cyane Crump. “Our jury has selected the best designs produced by the competition. Now we want to know what you think. This is only the beginning of a dialogue.”

The jury comprised of Richmond design, architecture, and housing community leaders Sukenya Best of Virginia Union University, Sanford Bond, FAIA of 3north, Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA of AIA Virginia, Greta Harris of Better Housing Richmond and Julie Weissend, LEED AP ID + C of Dovetail Construction Company Inc., awarded a grand prize, first prize professional, first prize student and design excellence mentions. A staff committee awarded honorable mentions.

The grand prize was awarded to architect Kevin Svensen of Glavé & Holmes Architects for his submission for a home in Union Hill. First prize professional went to Forrest Frazier of Forrest Frazier Architects for his design for Union Hill and first prize student went to Michael Abbot, Tom Walsh, Bruno Souza, Jamerson Seay, Ceara Chambers and Professor Wen M. Andrews from J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College for their design for Union Hill.

Come explore the top winners and the rest of the design excellence and honorable mention award winners and vote for your favorite! In addition to your chance to vote on a people’s choice design, you can follow Richmond’s Architectural Review Commission which holds regular meetings and makes recommendations to city council on matters involving designated historic districts.

“We learned a great deal about people’s desires in this process and share them in the exhibition,” says Reynolds. “We see this exhibition as the beginning of a conversation about the modern design process and its relevance to the fabric of historic neighborhoods.”

Drawing on History is sponsored by 3North, Sadler & Whitehead Architects PLC, and Keith Fabry.

Historic Richmond is a non-profit organization dedicated to shaping the future of Richmond by preserving our distinctive historic character, sparking revitalization and championing our past and future architectural legacy. We are champions of the past and passionate fans of its future. For more information visit www.historicrichmond.com.

The Branch Museum of Architecture and Design is located at 2501 Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia’s historic Fan District. The mission of The Branch is to reveal the inherent beauty of the created form and space, igniting a passion for design. The Branch is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Learn more at www.branchmuseum.org.

Posted in
Read more on this topic:

Stay Up-to-Date with Your City.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.