The Parts and Their Whole

Abstract

The traditional core of the University of Virginia campus, created by Thomas Jefferson in the early nineteenth century, affords an instructive case study in how restoration of its physical fabric can continue to be a viable treatment, lending new insight on its designer’s intent, while also allowing changes to the complex that have been made over time to remain and enhance its overall historical richness. This both-and planning strategy emphasizes the overarching importance of Jefferson’s scheme, but avoids the constraints of a museum piece or, worse, the lapsing into a themed cliché. The lessons learned with this project carry important implications of the treatment of historic districts that possess transcendent core physical attributes, yet also have other, minor qualities that contribute to the significance of the whole by virtue of their differences.