Six Hundred West Main, Charlottesville Mixed-Use Development, Virginia Apartments, Gallery, USA Architecture Design
Six Hundred West Main in Charlottesville
June 22, 2022
Architecture: Bushman Dreyfus Architects
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Photos: Virginia Hamrick Photography
Six Hundred West Main, Virginia
Six Hundred is an urban mixed use project which helps connect two parts of the city, revitalizes two historic structures, and contributes to the artistic energy of the area.
The new building has 53 apartments, art gallery, lobby, courtyard, underground parking and retail space. The renovated historic buildings house a locally-famous diner and a wine shop with offices and apartments above.
Awards
2020 AIA Central Virginia Merit Award for Excellence in Contextual Design
2020 Architecture, Construction & Design Awards Second Award in the Mixed Use (Built) category
Client Vision
The owners, a married team of developer and artist, envisioned a forward-thinking, urban apartment building for downtown Charlottesville. The artist-owner says that Six Hundred is “where rock‘n roll goes to kick back.”
West Main Street
Six Hundred puts its residents in the heart of the city, with the historic pedestrian mall and the University of Virginia within walking distance. In the past the middle section of Main Street has felt more like a divider than a connector, but this is changing with new development and revitalization. This project helps knit the sides together by infilling a gap in the street wall, adding and renovating 3 retail spaces, increasing pedestrian traffic, and bringing residents down to the street. New uses, materials and architecture are in keeping with the historically eclectic area, which includes many building types and uses from residential to industrial.
Site Context
The immediate site is as complex and varied as the street. Bounded by the two historic structures and West Main Street to the north, the project site is bordered by railroad tracks to the south, a store to the east and an auto repair shop to the west. Each side is addressed by the design, whether by entry portals connecting the street fronts, industrial balconies along the tracks, or the artist’s mural facing the auto shop parking lot.
Street Front
The overall composition created by the street front incorporates existing and new buildings through both massing and the use of the materials, colors and textures. In order to meet the historic houses at a compatible scale, the new building steps down in height from the six stories to three as it approaches West Main. The pattern of the carefully designed new building façade becomes a backdrop to the more complicated shapes of the historic buildings.
Entry Portals
Three large weathering steel structures mark the entrances along West Main Street. One surrounds the gate which leads into the courtyard between the two historic buildings, one creates an elegant illuminated entrance into the residential lobby and the other surrounds the display window/entrance for the new retail space. These portals belong to each of the buildings and are a common element that connects the fabric of old and new, both visually and physically.
Faith xlvii Mural
In collaboration with the Charlottesville Mural Project, the design team commissioned internationally acclaimed South African artist Faith XLVII to paint a mural speaking to issues of local and national significance.
Living in a Gallery
The whole project was envisioned as an art gallery. This starts outside with the mural, past the diner and coffee shop windows, into the lobby, past The Gallery at Six Hundred and into the residential corridors. The concierge office’s blackened steel cladding is a collaboration between the design team and a local artisan. The Gallery and corridors have museum-quality track and floor lighting, changing exhibits, and featured artists in different media.
Courtyard
The new building wraps behind the two historic buildings, creating a courtyard garden. In this space there is harmony between old and new. It connects directly to both lobby and gallery with large sliding glass doors. A fire pit, furniture, and plantings make the garden great for openings, community events, and gatherings.
Six Hundred West Main in Virginia, USA – Building Information
Design: Bushman Dreyfus Architects – https://bdarchitects.com/
Collaborators
Milestone Partners – Owner’s Representative
W.M. Jordan Company – General contractor
Dunbar Milby Williams Pittman & Vaughan – Structural engineer
Staengl Engineering – MEP, FP engineers
Timmons Group – Civil engineer
Pray Design Associates – Landscape architect
Randy Burkett Lighting Design – Lighting Design
Heirloom Development, Ivy Nate’ – Owner/Design Director
Key products used:
Facade cladding:
– Flush metal wall panels, FW Series, Imetco
– EIFS/Stucco, Rollershield Drainage EIFS, Masterwall
– pre-weathered corten panels, Facade-Tek
Flooring:
– Luxury Vinyl Tile, CorkCore, Expanko
Doors:
– All glass doors, AGA Door, Virginia Glass Products Inc.
– Terrace doors, Series D200, Efco
– Multi-paned exterior sliding doors, Lift slide, Solar Innovations
Windows:
– Storefront, 403T, Efco
– Aluminum windows, Modern Series, Quaker
Roofing:
– TPO, Sure-Weld, Carlisle Syntec
Photographers: Virginia Hamrick Photography
Six Hundred West Main, Charlottesville Virginia Building images / information received 220622
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
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