The old King Lumber Warehouse Building is located along Preston Avenue in historic downtown Charlottesville, Virginia.  Built in 1909 the warehouse was one of Charlottesville’s principle industries through the 1930’s and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Place.  Working collaboratively with local architects, Bushman Dreyfus, the design team was charged with creating a LEED certified adaptive reuse and restoration project for Class A office and retail space.  The site design incorporates pedestrian access from Preston Avenue, public and semi-public sitting terraces, and a streetscape that respects the industrial and historic nature of the site.  

Given the historic use of the site was a lumber yard; the design commenced with the idea of how timber is turned into dimensional lumber and then stacked on palettes in the yard.  A timber slat wall is designed to replicate stacked palettes while creating an edge to the entry walk from the sidewalk and providing the site’s identity.  The wall breaks down from wall to curb to steps replicating how boards would be removed from a palette eventually leaving only the shims lying in random position.  This wall system will be used for screening in other areas of the site while using smaller dimensioned lumber pieces.

The plant palette is based on early successional Piedmont species that would be found growing in an unkempt lumber yard.  Drought tolerant and hardy, these companion plants were chosen and arranged based on their scale, color, texture and compatibility with the site’s condition.

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