VIA Architects at the Forefront of Sustainability Efforts

Ashar Nelson and Megan Nedzinksi attended the 4th Northern New England AIA COTE (Committee on the Environment) Leadership Summit which took place in Portsmouth, NH on June 13 and 14. The COTE Leadership Summits provide an opportunity for sustainability leaders to share experience and develop concrete strategies to encourage widespread adoption of sustainability practices. This year’s theme, Mainstreaming the Demand for Sustainable Architecture, explored ways to further engage clients, communities, and policy makers in the sustainability effort. Megan Nedzinski, organizing committee member, offered a short presentation (Pecha Kucha style) on building community support for a project through a guided process of careful listening, the use of tools to identify and analyze priorities, and development of designs that accurately reflect a community’s wishes within a framework of sustainability (see related article).  The 2017 VT Summit led to two important outcomes: the development of a 2030 District in Burlington – a partnership of public and private entities committed to taking on the 2030 Challenge; and the adoption of revisions to the national AIA Code of Ethics to include obligations to the environment (see related article in the Fall 2018 issue of Wayword).

Summary reports and a video of the summit will be available shortly on the NNECOTE website.

Historic Windows – Restore or Replace?

When restoring an historic building, the feature that often proves the most challenging is the windows. VIA must consider a host of factors to help clients determine the best course of action including: their historic significance, the current or intended use of the building, the relevant building science around moisture and energy efficiency, the current condition of the windows, and health and safety factors like the size of the openings and the presence of lead paint and asbestos. Cost is also often of great concern.

We work closely with the Department of Historic Preservation (DHP) to find a desirable solution for each project. Each with valid points of view, the sometimes competing interests of historic preservation, building science and energy efficiency, and the standards of health and safety for the current use, and cost, of course, have to find a balance to achieve the desired result. At the Park House, a former inn that is now a residence for seniors in Rochester, the solution was pretty straightforward. Heavy windows that wouldn’t reliably stay open or open at all prevented residents from accessing natural ventilation. Since the windows were not particularly historically significant, it made more sense to replace them to better suit the current use.

The Park House in Rochester
Deteriorating Slade Hall window.

Sometimes projects are trickier, as in the case of UVM’s Slade Hall, a dormitory designed by McKim, Mead, and White and built in 1928. Given this historic significance, the deteriorating windows posed a thornier problem. Together with DHP and UVM officials, we examined a host of factors to determine whether to restore or replace. After an in-depth cost-benefit analysis and construction of two mock up replacement windows, the team agreed that for the safety of the building’s occupants, the energy efficiency of the building, and the significant cost savings, replacement was the best, if not perfect, solution. One exception with this project is the double-hung, arch-topped window in the stair, which is being reglazed, restored, and will receive a very special exterior storm window.

As always, every historic preservation project is unique. Lovely old windows add character but can be drafty, heavy, or otherwise challenging for today’s standards. They can also be significant historic artifacts that beg restoration to a functional state. It takes a nuanced approach, creative problem solving, and collaboration across disciplines to determine the best solution. VIA is especially proud of its on-going working relationship with DHP and many historic preservation consultants throughout the state. Together we work to balance our clients’ priorities while keeping buildings relevant, well-maintained, well-used, and well-loved for many generations to come.

Nicholas Wood Judges 3D Vermont Competition

Nick Wood judging 3D Vermont competition

On Friday March 24, Middle School and High School students from around the state gathered at Vermont Technical College in Rutland for Third Annual 3D Vermont  Architecture and History Olympiad. Nicholas Wood, of Vermont Integrated Architecture, was there to check out the action and help judge the event.

The 14 teams were challenged to research and recreate historic buildings in the form of digital models printed on 3D printers. Through the process they would research and document the history of their building and create a multimedia presentation to accompany their printed 3D models. SketchUp is a key sponsor and is the software used to model the buildings. Montpelier State House 3DThe results were impressive, with students showing in-depth interest and knowledge of their buildings. This was gleaned from a variety of sources, from on-site exploration and historical sources to local community knowledge. Great technical skills came through as they nutted out some complex modelling and occasional unexpected technical challenges to deliver detailed printed models backed up with well-presented and informative research. The wide variety of projects taken on included: The Breeding Barn at Shelburne Farms, Wilcox-Cutts House, Brantview House, Proctor Marbleworks, Ira Allen Chapel, The State House and Bennington Battle Memorial.

The team from Rutland High School gave a professional and polished presentation to take away top honors and a new 3D printer along with scholarship offers from VTC. Some precise architectural detail models helped Windsor High School secure second place. On the Middle School side, Rutland also took away first place, followed closely by Williston Central. All the other teams put in an amazing effort with great results. They did particularly well at dividing up the various tasks and then combining the collective output into a cohesive presentation. Next year we hope to see a school from the Middlebury area represented and would look forward to supporting that effort.

 

Reflections of a Summer Intern

A FIRM; A FAMILY

By Jesse Gillette, 2016 Summer Intern

Jesse_webTwo years ago, I met Andrea Murray and was introduced to her firm, Vermont Integrated Architecture, P.C (VIA). While our conversation started on the topic of architecture, it quickly turned to one focused on the natural beauty of our state. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this conversation would align heavily with my own perceptions in relation to the role of architecture in a community (built or natural), and would not be forgotten when searching the state for an internship.

There I was, two years later, sitting at my own desk in the office of VIA; after months of preparation, I had received an internship that would influence me more in a summer than it seemed architecture school had in four years. On my first day, I was given my own design project, and, on day two, was working on my first professional project, a community center for the town of Westport, NY. A few days later, I was doing detail work for Pierce Hall, a community building for the town of Rochester, VT. Through these two projects, I began to understand how to communicate graphically the components and adjacencies of building systems, and the effort it took to organize and communicate these drawings to our consultants and clients. As the summer progressed, I was making design decisions for myself, conferring with consultants one on one, and making site visits here and there. And, to my surprise, I was given the opportunity to work on models for the Middlebury Natural Food Coop and new Shelburne Town Library, a three-dimensional way of communicating that I particularly enjoyed. There’s a trend here, and I quickly realized how crucial communication was to the responsibilities that VIA was entrusting me to fulfill.

Jesse, left, helps high school intern, Kai Dobek, with a model.

Jesse, left, helps high school intern, Kai Dobek, with a model.

Of course, this transition to and progression within the professional practice did not come easy, as the jump from school to the office is never easy (it is actually rather nerve-racking, coming from someone who does not often get nervous). Yet, there was a team of eight people that genuinely cared about my growth, and were there to answer my questions or help me with my problems. They were fantastic about communicating with me, and with others, and through that communication, they could not conceal their care for the communities that their projects were serving. This was endlessly beneficial to me, as I then started to see the importance of community that VIA’s website had addressed unfolding right in the office- they weren’t just preaching their vision, but were living it as well. Their welcoming personalities made me feel a part of the team, and the trust they bestowed in me made me feel like much more than a mere intern. I was performing at such a level I had not in the past because I was surrounded by these influential people who exemplified what it took to operate a professional practice, and do so in an attentive manner that stressed the importance of community and nature (as a native Vermonter, this hit close to the heart).

With my internship nearing an end, I knew I would leave with an abundance of new design skills and knowledge in how the professional practice operates. Yet my greatest realization was how important the people really are, in any phase of a project, whether on our team or in the community. Everyone at VIA was doing more for others through architecture than they were doing for themselves in general. All the late nights and early mornings were not for extra pay or hopeful recognition, no. It was for the welfare of a successful project, and, in turn, an improved communal condition. I now understand my own place in architecture because I was connected to these people, connected to VIA. Although the projects I worked on were very important, I found this personal connection to be the greatest benefit I walked away with, and was thus of utmost importance for me to express here. On the eve beginning a graduate program at Norwich University, I look back on my three-month experience and smile (to say the least). I was hired as an intern, but left the office as a member of the VIA family, and for that, I am forever changed, and endlessly grateful.

VIA Selected as One of Vermont’s “Emerging Leaders”

SBA Emerging Leaders logoVIA was one of 20 applicants recently chosen to participate in the Small Business Administration’s Emerging Leaders Initiative beginning this April.  Over 70 Vermont business owners applied for this year’s inaugural offering of the federal program in Vermont.  Using the “Streetwise MBA” curriculum developed by Interise, a Boston-based entrepreneurial education organization, the seven-month program will help Andrea Murray, VIA’s president, develop a three-year strategic plan for the business, exploring areas such as financial planning, human resources, marketing, and profitability.  Taking place at Vermont Technical College in Williston about twice each month through October, the course promises to provide Andrea with the tools to plan for VIA’s future growth and become a greater presence in our local economy.

Roundtable Discussion for Residential Building Professionals

Residential building professionals roundtable discussion

On Wednesday, March 25, VIA is hosting a roundtable discussion for residential building professionals – architects, builders, realtors, and others – to discuss the reasons behind the rising costs of construction of new energy efficient homes and ways we can work together to address these costs.  The roundtable will be held at the Town Hall Theater Studio in Middlebury at 7:00. We have a great group already planning to participate!  If you’d like to join us, please RSVP to gwen@vermontintegratedarchitecture.com.   We look forward to seeing you there!

What Makes a Healthy Building?

MIDDLEBURY – Andrea Kerz-Murray, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, will give a presentation, titled “Healthy Buildings = Healthy People,” on Thursday, May 10 at 7 p.m. in Room 304 of the Johnson Memorial Building at Middlebury College.

Murray will discuss her 20 years of professional practice working with people to design buildings that strengthen communities, support local economies, sustain healthy environments and are simply beautiful spaces.

Download the article here.

Is Palladio For You?

andrea_sketch

Andrea’s first sketch of the Rotunda from memory…before she got off the bus.

I am sitting in my Introduction to Architectural Design class watching and waiting attentively as my students attempt to draw, from memory, the plan, section, and elevation of Andrea Palladio’s Villa Capra, “La Rotunda.”

I am remembering the Fall of 1993 when I was put to this very task while studying architecture.  I was fortunate enough to be in Italy at the time and preparing for a field trip to the Veneto to see Villa Rotunda and several other Palladian masterpieces.  My instructor threatened that none of us would be allowed on the bus unless we could draw the building from memory.

I am also sitting here thinking to myself that at least one person in this class is going to go on in life to do something truly amazing in architecture – something that parallels the achievements of Palladio.  We know Palladio (and I should credit Scamozzi who championed the project after Palladio’s death) modeled the Villa Rotunda on the Pantheon, and we also know thousands of more recent buildings have modeled themselves on the Villa Rotunda, Jefferson’s Monticello among the most famous.

So why is this building so important? What is it about this building that has endured and seems to transcend time?  Is it its perfect geometry and complex symmetries?  Is it the durable materials?  Is it the bucolic setting – it is after all a farmhouse?  Perhaps it isn’t the house our clients come and ask for, at least not literally, but there is something about the experience of La Rotunda that is present in almost everything we do.

andrea_attherotunda

A young architect makes her pilgrimage to the Villa Rotunda in 1993.

At VIA we strive to make buildings that respect, enhance, and interact with their surroundings.  We design buildings that could serve many generations to come.  We consider the sun, and views, and local materials.  La Rotunda is rotated 45 degrees off the cardinal axes as Palladio wanted to be sure all rooms received some direct sunlight.  In addition, the views through the building out into the open countryside are overtly emphasized and framed.  These are wonderful ways to connect a building to its place, making it belong and withstand changes of style and culture.

Several years from now when the aforementioned student accepts her or his Pritzker Prize (basically the Nobel  Prize equivalent for Architecture), I hope she or he recalls being intimate with Palladio, at least for just an afternoon.  I hope all my other students consider proportion, light, materials, and their connections to a place no matter where they go or what they do.

And, if you made it to the end of this post, perhaps you’re hooked as well.

– Andrea Murray

Interning at VIA

Addison_atwork1A week after graduating Middlebury College, I started as an intern at Vermont Integrated Architecture (VIA). The young firm is already up to its ears working on a range of projects, from a refrigerated apple storage facility to an island-home to an exciting new design for the Middlebury Town Offices.

Principals and founders Andrea Murray and Ashar Nelson served as lead advisers to the 2011 Middlebury Solar Decathlon Team and teach intro. studio architecture classes at the college, which is how I know them. They now advise the promising 2013 SD Team. As read-out-loud-worthy emails come in from students, I chuckle to myself, having been ‘there’ so recently. I feel somewhere between a proud graduate and a sneaky imposter.

The VIA office, located in Marbleworks across from the Medicine Chest and just behind Costellos, is spacious and well-lit, primarily by two large south-facing windows. The space used to be a Yoga Studio, and the smooth bamboo floor, high ceilings, and white walls – now decorated with architectural drawings, both hand and computer-rendered – are appropriately calming. Sometimes the music we play in the office, which we do often, accents this feeling of calm. Other times it does not, but sometimes you need a little action, right?

My desk is by the entrance and my computer faces the door, which keeps me honest as clients and subcontractors come in to discuss projects, or just to say hello. I sit next to Chris Nielson, a Midd and University of Oregon grad, musician, AutoCAD master, and Andrea & Ashar’s number two. I came in last Monday having used CAD only a handful of times, and bothered Chris all week trying to learn the ropes. I continue to bother Chris this (my second) week, but less frequently.

As an intern, I work primarily on editing CAD drawings that have been “red-lined,” which means that Andrea or Ashar have taken their carefully picked-out red pens to physical print-outs. I also get to make site visits, like last week when I visited a barn in Cornwall that Ashar is converting into a writing studio for a Sports Illustrated writer. Hours are relatively loose, which means I can do errands if I need to, or go skiing on a snowy day if I want to. I’m usually here regular shop hours, which are 8 – 5, but plan on taking a few Friday afternoons off.

I look forward to continuing my work at VIA for the next five weeks, and highly recommend the firm to architecture students looking for an internship!

– Addison

Andrea to Present at Better Buildings

VIA Architect Andrea Murray to Present at 2012 Better Buildings by Design Conference
February 8 & 9, 2012
Sheraton Conference Center
Burlington, Vermont

 

http://efficiencyvermont.com/for_our_partners/bbd/general/overview.aspx

One of 35+ interactive presentations, 50+ exhibits and demonstrations, over 1000 participants, Andrea and three Middlebury College students (Hilary Cunningham, Addison Godine, and Shane Scranton) will present the process and product of Middlebury’s effort in the 2011 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.  It is our intent to share with as many people as possible our experience designing and constructing a 100% solar-powered house for Vermont.  Yes, it can be done: solar in Vermont.  And, we know how.  Let our experience help you make buildings that don’t depend on fossil fuel for their operations and maintenance.  Let us also show you how we used local materials and expertise to make it happen.

Finally, we’ll let you in on our secret…idea sharing for Middlebury’s 2013 Solar Decathlon entry.

Join us at the event, or contact Andrea Murray at andrea@vermontintegratedarchitecture.com for more information about the presentation or the project.