Clive Wilkinson Architects

VCU BRANDCENTER, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

Meghan Edwards -- Interior Design, 12/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

Successful design marries the past with the present. Perhaps the same can be said for a successful ad campaign. Regardless, it's what Interior Design Hall of Fame member Clive Wilkinson did at this advertising and communications graduate school. The school's main lecture halls, media labs, and classrooms are accommodated in an 1890 brick carriage house, part of one of Richmond's oldest hotels, which Wilkinson updated, refurbishing its maple floors, adding maple-veneered workstations, and inserting a retractable 50-person meeting room. He also built a 12,000-square-foot addition to provide seismic bracing and modern facilities. A series of what the architect calls "neighborhoods" in the form of massive concrete tables and breakout areas encourage interaction between students and staff. "One cannot force creativity," Wilkinson says, "but can provide the environment to stimulate it."

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