South Lawn Project

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The South Lawn Project is a bold extension of The Lawn, the hallowed centerpiece of the University of Virginia, which was designed by Thomas Jefferson.

Envisioned by the trustees of the University as a way to vastly increase the amount of classroom and office space for professors on the central grounds, the $160 million South Lawn Project would demolish one of the school's largest existing academic buildings, New Cabell Hall, and replace it with a grassy terrace over a busy road leading to a new ensemble of structures.

Criticism has arisen over the allegedly derivative architectural nature of the project. Not only does it ape certain aspects of The Lawn, but it also would utilize a traditional red brick appearance that critics allege that the always-innovating Jefferson - were he alive today - would have dumped as new technologies arose.

This tension, common on college campuses around America and elsewhere, illustrates the broader conundrum of how to expand an architectural icon, taking advantage of modern building techniques and related cost advantages, without being obviously derivative in style. Note that the same critics also decry many of the buildings designed in the last forty years at the University, most of which reflect an attempt to create a modern interpretation of the Jeffersonian style. Many were designed by the leading architects of the day, but as of 2007 are considered obsolete eyesores, such as Gilmer Hall, the Chemistry Building, and Clemons Library. Interestingly, one of the most criticized buildings at the University is the School of Architecture itself, which was designed to be a showcase for the architecture of its day (mid-1970s) but which today is obsolete in most measures (energy efficiency, usability, cost of maintenance, appearance, and condition).