Located on the VRCBVI’s campus in Richmond, the 1970-built Administration and Activities Building houses the administrative and business offices of the centre. It features training spaces for teaching skills to help visually impaired individuals to adapt to living and teaching partial blind people how to effectively use their remaining sight.
Designed by the Virginia-based Moseley Architects and renovated according to the Americans with Disability Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), the facility has improved the aging building and antiquated technology systems and minimised the “special features” typically associated with the vision impaired.
To arrive at a building for visually impaired people, the renovation has carefully considered echoes, smells, and proportions in shaping the facility and how they might make an impression on staff and visitors. In addition to that, the renovated facility offers a new large, central skylit atrium that channels light, warmth, and openness into interior classrooms and offices.
In order to be environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient, the renovated building has incorporated many sustainable features, which are critical to achieve the LEED certificate. The renovation has abated the use of hazardous building materials like asbestos and lead-based paint. The aging and leaky roof has been replaced with a standing seam metal system coated with a highly-reflective solar paint to reduce heat gain to the building caused by the heat island effect.
The underutilised courtyard has been transformed into a large atrium with an insulated translucent skylight. There is ample provision for natural light into the facility as the interior classrooms and offices receive through transoms, while perimeter spaces receive ample daylight through windows with glare control treatments. Three electric vehicle charging stations have also been added to promote use of low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles.
Efficient mechanical and lighting system and other energy reduction methods have been applied to reduce the energy consumption. All heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment and associated controls have been removed and replaced with a new variable system with energy recovery technology.
In order to reduce the solar heat, the facility has used the single-pane window units to replace the double-pane thermally insulated units with low-emissivity coating to reduce solar heat gain. To reduce energy use by 15% , the existing metal halide site lights have been upgraded to new light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures, which will offer a significant energy savings and extended lamp life.
To reduce water consumption by 30% and save approximately 34,000 gallons of water per year, the renovation has installed low-flow plumbing fixtures. Around 87% of all construction and demolition debris have been recycled with regionally manufactured materials and wood materials harvested from sustainably-managed forests used in the construction of the building. Additionally, indoor air quality has been protected through strict construction practices, and use of low-emitting building materials and furniture.
Moseley Architects worked with representatives of the VRCBVI, the DBVI, and design partners KEI Architects, Dennis Kowal Architects, and John Dickinson & Partners to renovate the facility. Kenbridge Construction is the general contractor for this project.
