Located in the historic district of Middleburg, Virginia, BELL Architects was hired to rethink the owner’s redevelopment project after five unsuccessful attempts of obtaining a certificate of appropriateness from the town’s Historic District Review Committee (HDRC). BELL Architects first analyzed the context and historic resources of the site and historic district and then reoriented the density of the site and concealed most of the parking to achieve a landscaped courtyard that opened to the residential street and locates the bulk of the new construction to the south, closer to the commercial area of the town and its main street.

The design takes advantage of the site’s slope and conceals 19 parking spaces beneath the courtyard garden accessed in the larger of the two new buildings.  The site was occupied by a mid 20th century bungalow that remains on the site and a carriage house that was removed. The office and conference center includes approximately 13,000 square feet of area. The design is intended to be sympathetic to the scale, the materials and the architectural styles of the town’s significant period of development.

The project achieved a Certificate of Appropriateness from HDRC, and Planning Commission approval and building permit from Loudoun County. This project incorporates the precepts of historic preservation, conservation and sustainable design into a building that fits into its environment and uses energy and resources efficiently.