Dairy Queen Harmony Square is a 3,200 sf one-story restaurant located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Dairy Queen International provides a standard base design for operators to use for their franchise drawings that need to be adapted to local conditions. The owners of Dairy Queen Harmony Square added a requirement of making their facility as energy-efficient as possible. We worked through the design process to adapt the original documents to fit our local climate and the client’s budget. We also worked hard to find the right environmentally sensitive design solutions to incorporate into the structure.
Strategies we incorporated include a 5 kW solar photovoltaic array on the roof and LED lighting to reduce annual energy usage. We also added solatubes for natural light. These worked to not only reduce energy usage but to increase the interior comfort level bringing in more natural light to the space. The high-efficiency HVAC system and on-demand water heaters further reduced energy consumption while low-flow water fixtures reduced overall water consumption. All of these environmentally sensitive design strategies were selected to reduce the impact of this building on the environment while saving the building owners money.
White’s Travel Center, Petro, is the largest truck stop on the East Coast and our goal for this project was to expand their retail sales area. This project is an example of our design-build projects as we were actually working for the builder and not the truck stop as our client. So our task for a project of this type is to attend design meetings with all the other design professionals (mechanical, plumbing, electrical, interior design, structural, civil) that are all working for other people and coordinate our work with their work. It can be a bit of a herding cat situation and the most important thing is no ego allowed. The client for all of us at the end of the day is the truck stop and we all want to make sure we meet the goals for the mercantile space and we all want to make sure we are making it as easy as possible to build the space, meet the aesthetic goals, maximize the profitability of the space, and not impede any truck traffic on the site while doing so. We love doing design-build work with an integrated team like this one. It is this spirit of collaboration that makes for a great project. We were able to find the right solution in the right place on the site, design the right construction wall solution (tilt-up concrete) for speed and durability of construction, and deliver effective drawings for our client, the contractor, to execute the work in an efficient and timely manner. Coordinating our work with all the other designers resulted in a beautiful and well executed mercantile space that features 20,000 sf of retail options for those truck drivers that are keeping shelves full at the stores we all shop in daily.
Weiler Orthodontics is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Dr. Weiler inherited an existing space and aesthetic from his predecessor and had a thriving business. His business had grown to a point that he wanted to make the space match his vision for client care. He approached our firm along with Herr & Co. with the challenge. Our goal was to create a space that was comfortable for his patients, typically teenagers, while infusing his personality into the design. The other challenge was to achieve a condensed construction schedule to minimize the impacts on Dr. Weiler’s client services. Our firm pulled together a design through renderings, materials pallets, and construction drawings to allow Dr. Weiler to see his vision and for Herr & Co. to start planning for construction. Our design also addressed comfort issues in the space which we solved through a new insulation strategy and HVAC system designed by Suter Engineering. This comprehensive remodel shows how to create a comfortable and sophisticated space that increases client satisfaction while reinforcing your brand. The space is fresh, clean, and comfortable bringing smiles to our client and his clients!
With 108,000 sf under roof, this logistical warehouse facility has an award-winning design. The Tilt-up Association recognized the project in their 2014 Tilt-Up Achievement Awards. Featuring bold colors, and fin walls the structure blends industrial durability with innovative aesthetics to create a striking building. The facility has 16 dock bays and potential for up to 8 tenant upfit spaces. The flexibility of design is required as upfit is a second phase scope of work. Tilt-up concrete building systems create a durable long-lasting solution and increases the speed of delivery while maximizing the investment of the client. Working with Nielsen Builders in a design-build capacity delivers industrial clients a one-stop contact to achieve their development priorities.
PROJECT LOCATION: Charlottesville, Virginia CONTRACTOR: Coleman Adams PHOTOGRAPHER: Barry Rickert STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Moler and Associates CIVIL ENGINEER: Dominion Development Resources, LLC ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING ENGINEER: Master Engineers and Designers, Inc.
Luxor, a 24,000 sf multi-tenant office building located on Pantops Mountain, is raising the bar in Charlottesville for innovative office space. Featuring a vegetated roof, high performance insulation and heating / cooling system, and low VOC interior finishes, Luxor is not only energy efficient, it is healthy. The design does not stop with the building’s walls, it also features multiple exterior gathering spaces from the courtyard between the two building to the garden space that creates a buffer to the street. Using native plantings, strategically placed retaining walls, and local vernacular, this building project has defined a compelling entrance into the city. The tenants in Luxor include a yogurt shop, phone retailer, architectural office, developer headquarters, massage studio, hair salon, bank, and doctor’s office. The diversity of the tenants is balanced by the flexible signage system that keeps a consistent aesthetic through the project and ties the parts into a holistic aesthetic solution.
