JMU's Gifford Hall receives a "Dormy Award"

James Madison University's Gifford Hall has been recognized by DormSplash.com as having one of the best residence halls in the country. Click here to find out what the Best 14 Dorms in the Country, Worst 14 Dorms in the Country, 14 Biggest Party Dorms in the Country, 14 Schools with the Best Dorms, 14 Dorms with the Hottest Residents, and 14 Schools with the Best RAs.

Tidewater Community College Chesapeake | Student Center

VMDO begins Programming + Pre Design for TCC Chesapeake's New Student Center. 

While many students are taking a summer break, some faculty and student will return to campus for summer extracurricular work. Beginning June 16th, VMDO's design team will meet with student organization leaders and faculty to program the campus' first new building in more than a decade. The new Student Center, scheduled for completion in 2011, will accommodate students activities that range from lounge, meeting and study - to recreation, retail and child-minding. To visit the project website, click here.

Jefferson Scholars Foundation Center webcam

Click here to access Martin-Horn's webcam of the construction of the new Jefferson Scholars Foundation Center. To learn more about the project, click here.

Poquoson Elementary School honored for sustainability

The new Poquoson Elementary School in Poquoson, Virginia, has been recognized for its environmentally sensitive design. The 80,000 square foot building, which replaces a facility that was more than 50 years old, has already received the James River Green Building Council "Go Green" Design Merit Award and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) Design Concept Award. District officials in Poquoson, Virginia, are pursuing a gold LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Green features of the new school include a high-efficiency geothermal heating and cooling system; natural lighting and integrated dimmer systems; and water-conserving plumbing. The surrounding 22 acres include newly created wetlands that will serve as learning laboratories. They will also be accessible to local citizens via paths from the west after hours and on weekends.

To learn more about the project, click here.

Construction for VMI's new Leadership and Ethics Center has begun

The groundbreaking for Virginia Military Institute's new Leadership and Ethics Center occurred last December. Click Download 971_Internet_VideoSmaller.mov  for our video of the "fly-through." For more information about the groundbreaking, click here.

The VHA highlights three of VMDO Architects' arenas at UVa

At the Venue Hospitality Association's National Collegiate Conference held in Charlottesville, Virginia on May 21-23, 2007, the organization highlighted three of VMDO Architects' projects for the University of Virginia: The John Paul Jones Arena, Scott Stadium, and Davenport Field.  Check out what they said about our work by clicking here.

Burning Daylight Barn in inform

The summer 2005 edition of inform: Architecture + Design in the Mid-Atlantic features VMDO's design of Burning Daylight Barn, located in Albemarle County, Virginia. Entitled "Horse Sense," the article discusses how the "stringent demands of the client and an intelligent response by VMDO" produced a "richly detailed and cleverly organized" project. The feature was authored by Allen Freeman and includes photography by Prakash Patel. The barn, completed in July 2002, is home to 28 thoroughbreds being raised and trained to become champion racehorses. VMDO's Bob Moje and Randy Livermon designed Burning Daylight Barn, a 2004 Award for Excellence in Architecture winner from the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects.

Arena Update

With roughly a year to go before the new UVA John Paul Jones Multipurpose Arena is complete, progress continues at the construction site on the corner of Emmett Street and Massie Road. The steel roof trusses are in place and the roofing materials continue to be installed. The next phase involves the interior work, which is now falling into line. This includes finalizing purchases for furnishings, as well as the audio-visual packages.

Construction of the practice courts and auxiliary facilities—weight training rooms, coaches' offices, and expanded locker rooms—at the east end of the arena is now underway. Brickwork is complete on the arena's north side, and will continue to go up on the south side. Over the next three to six months, the rest of the masonry will be in place as well as the signature white precast concrete columns at the main west entrance. The 830-car parking garage is also largely complete, as is the central utility plant.

Other major activities include the construction of the North Grounds Connector. Site clearing along the route 29/250 bypass has begun already for the half-mile road.

The building, which will be the largest indoor sports and entertainment venue in the Commonwealth of Virginia, is expected to be complete in May 2006.

Great Lengths

What lengths are we willing to go to?  Any... literally!

Attempting to determine whether or not the Chesapeake Bay would be visible from a potential school site, VMDO enlisted the aid of the City of Poquoson's brand new hook-and-ladder truck to get a better view.  Firefighter Clay Scary met Bob Moje, Bill Bradley, and Superintendent of Schools Jonathan Lewis on site with Ladder 206, which can climb as high as 115' when duty calls.  Such heights weren't necessary on this day, but Bill did clamor as high as 70' to take panoramic pictures of the site and the Bay beyond.  This picture was taken from his vantage point as Clay, Bob, and Jonathan (...and an EMT!) looked on.

Poquoson Lead Team

The Lead Team met for the second time on Wednesday... at the Virginia Living Museum!  Team members were given a tour of the facility by the museum's director of education who talked about the ways in which the building was design to instruct visitors.  As they toured, Team members took digital photos of those aspects of the design that left an impression on them - check out their photo journal.