The Charlottesville Zoning Design Workshop is a design-research initiative funded by the Jefferson Trust at the University of Virginia School of Architecture.
The project aims to engage students across the UVA School of Architecture in the design and policy questions raised by Charlottesville’s 2021 Comprehensive Plan. Led by Assistant Professor of Architecture Jonah Coe-Scharff, the workshop worked with a team of students over the summer of 2022 to develop research focused on the implications of zoning reform for the design of infill housing. The project culminated in an exhibition and roundtable hosted at the School of Architecture in September 2022.
Our findings, presented as a series of five speculative design proposals, are showcased on this website and are also available as a downloadable report.
"Densifying in Place" at the UVA School of Architecture, August 30 - September 14, 2022
Credits
Jonah Coe-Scharff | Project Lead
Jonah Coe-Scharff is an architectural designer, researcher, and educator interested in the intersecting politics of the domestic and the urban. Jonah holds an M.Arch. from the Princeton School of Architecture with a Certificate in Urban Policy from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, as well an M.Phil. in Architecture & Urban Studies from the University of Cambridge. His research, teaching, and professional practice have focused on the interface between architectural design and urban policy. He was an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Virginia during academic year 2021–2022.
Stephen Liechty | Cartography
Stephen is a B.S. Arch. Design-Thinking student at the University of Virginia in the 4th year of the program. He is excited to apply what he has learned working with the Charlottesville Zoning Design Workshop as he continues to develop his design skills in his final year at UVA. Outside of class he enjoys making music and organizing live music events for underground dance music acts.
Sofia Kuspan | Design
Sofia Kuspan is a Master of Architecture student at the University of Virginia in the final year of the program. She holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University. She is currently pursuing a thesis examining the idea of spolia through a contemporary framework.
Agostina Portabales | Design
Agostina Portabales is a Master of Architecture student at the University of Virginia in the final year of the program. She holds a B.Arch. from the University of Florida. In her final year of studies, she is designing a mixed reality home for the year 2050. The dwelling will mediate between physical and virtual space, disrupting traditional spatial relationships by redefining apparent boundaries of the human body.
Patrick Sardo | Design & Photography
Patrick Sardo is a Master of Architecture student at the University of Virginia in the final year of the program. He holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University. He is currently pursuing a thesis examining the emerging typologies of post-human architecture and the role of the architect in the future. Patrick is currently a research assistant with the Arctic Design Group at University of Virginia.
Funding
The Charlottesville Zoning Design Workshop has been generously funded by the Jefferson Trust, a donor-led initiative of the UVA Alumni Association.
Funding for a related Spring 2022 seminar in the Department of Architecture, “Zoning’s Architectures,” was provided by a Mellon Race, Place, and Equity Program course grant.
Special Thanks
Lyle Solla Yates, Charlottesville Planning Commission
James Freas, Charlottesville Neighborhood Development Services
Sunshine Mathon, Piedmont Housing Alliance
Emily Dreyfus, Legal Aid Justice Center
Moriah Wilkins, Legal Aid Justice Center
Emily Smith, Legal Aid Justice Center
Dan Rosensweig, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville
Jeana Ripple, UVA School of Architecture
Malo Hutson, UVA School of Architecture
Barbara Brown Wilson, UVA School of Architecture
Louis Nelson, Vice Provost for Academic Outreach, UVA
Betsy Roettger, UVA School of Architecture
Sneha Patel, UVA School of Architecture
Kyle Sturgeon, UVA School of Architecture
Amy Bonner, Jefferson Trust
Jen Lucas, UVA School of Architecture
Questions?
Get in touch via email using the form here.