Education
UVA Contemplative Commons
Overview
This new 55,000 SF multi-use building on the University of Virginia’s grounds in Charlottesville houses three distinct programs: academic classrooms for multidisciplinary use; co-curricular spaces supporting student personal growth, skills development, well-being, and community building; and a living laboratory for research on learning in natural social settings.
Budget discipline was central to Hourigan’s contribution on the project. The team value-engineered approximately $4 million during schematic design and an additional $1.5 million during design development, producing $5.5 million in documented savings. This came through structured value management workshops: teleconferences with the design partners to identify, evaluate, and implement value engineering options without compromising the architectural vision. The process required both technical knowledge of constructability and a collaborative relationship with the design team that kept the project on track financially while protecting what mattered most in the design.
Details
- Location
- Charlottesville
- Size
- 55,000 sf
- Delivery Method
- CM at Risk
- Year
- 2024
Partners
- Architect
- Aidlin Darling Design, VMDO
- Civil Engineer
- TRC Engineers Inc.
Classrooms, Community, and Research
The Contemplative Commons is a 55,000 SF multi-use academic building on the University of Virginia’s grounds in Charlottesville, designed to serve three distinct programs within a single structure. The facility houses academic classrooms for multidisciplinary use; co-curricular spaces for student personal growth, skills development, well-being, and community building; and a living laboratory supporting research on learning in natural social settings. Each program required its own spatial logic, and the challenge for Hourigan was delivering all three together as a unified, high-performing building under CM at Risk.
LEED Gold Certified Building Exterior
The exterior material palette reflects the dual character of the project, rooted in tradition but contemporary in execution. Field stone and brick anchor the facade alongside metal panels, curtain wall glazing, and curtain wall sunshades, all assembled over a PVC roof system. A 30-inch steel channel fascia runs the perimeter, one of several precise architectural details requiring close coordination between the trades. The fieldstone facade, brick finishes carried inside and out, and the curtain wall sunshade system each demanded exacting installation tolerances to deliver the design intent Aidlin Darling Design and VMDO established for the project. The building achieved LEED Gold certification, with commitments to sustainable site selection, energy performance, materials, and occupant well-being built into the program from the outset.
Interior Materials and Technology
The interior carries the material palette of the exterior: brick finishes run inside and out, and the field stone and custom detailing of the facade continue through the building’s shared spaces. The 30-foot LED screen wall anchors the primary gathering area as the room’s central audiovisual installation. Each of the three program zones required distinct spatial and systems coordination within the shared envelope, with Hourigan managing trade sequencing and field verification across all three throughout construction.
Empowering Collaboration & Communication
Hourigan deployed OpenSpace reality capture technology throughout construction, giving project teams across the country the ability to walk the site remotely through a continuously updated photographic record. The system captured more than 10 hours of footage and over 75,000 photos, used to track change over time, verify field installations against the coordinated BIM model, and flag compliance issues and required modifications early. Laser scanning provided additional verification: sectioned views of the stair shaft and interior systems, wall squareness and plumbness analysis, and BIM-to-field comparisons at the first-floor courtyard gave the team high-confidence documentation of the as-built condition throughout construction.
This is an example of OpenSpace Video Split View. The actual project is on the left and what it will look like on the right. This visually shows the team and client the reality of the project and its future outcome, allowing them to see and make changes before stages of the project are built.
CEM students shadowing Hourigan team members.
Community Engagement
We are just as passionate about giving back to the community as we are about delivering exceptional buildings. We believe in paying forward the experience and best practices we have acquired to benefit emerging leaders in the industry. Involving the community in our projects is very important to us and one way we are doing that is by partnering with the Construction Engineering and Management Concentration (CEM) in the UVA Civil Engineering Program. Those in the CEM program have been on countless site tours and have experience shadowing some of our team members. Our Vice President of Preconstruction Services, Todd Bagwell, also schedules lectures for the students in the program.
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