Browsing by Author "Tucker, Lisa M."
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- An Art-Light Mosaic Light Distraction for the Pediatric Healthcare EnvironmentDutro, Anna R. (Virginia Tech, 2016-12-01)In his classic book, Experiencing Architecture, Rasmussen (1959) noted that architects inspired by addressing problems in built environments created buildings with a special spirit: a distinctive stamp. Recent problems in healthcare facilities, specifically those related to reducing stress and anxiety, have inspired designers to create positive, uplifting distractions to redirect a patient's attention from a sterile environment and/or noxious event. In doing so, healthcare facilities have become special environments with a caring spirit. This study examined a specific aspect of creating a caring environment: determining whether or not a positive distraction, a child's art-light mosaic movie developed by the researcher, would lower pain and distress in children 4, 5, and 6 years old during an immunization procedure. The researcher conducted a randomized controlled study in two locations using a child's self-report pain scale, heart rate, parent/guardian report, and nurse report measures. After collecting and analyzing data from 76 well-participants receiving one to five immunizations, the researcher found no statistically significant difference between the conditions for any of the measures. Thus, the null hypothesis, the art-light mosaic image would not assist in lowering pain and distress in pediatric patients, 4 to 6 years old, during an immunization procedure, was not rejected. From these results, the researcher recommended future studies incorporate training the parent and child on how to use the distraction, combine the distraction with a topical analgesic, provide a clear understanding of pain and distress from the child's point of view, and develop more sensitive self-report measures of pain for children.
- Arthurdale Reviewed: Sustainable New Deal Housing in AppalachiaGalford, Gregory; Tucker, Lisa M. (2021-05-21)This work in progress is connected to Eleanor Roosevelt’s passion to provide residents of an Appalachian coal-mining town an opportunity to live in a community based on principles of sustainability and social justice. Arthurdale, West Virginia was designed as an ideal community with each family receiving a new home and a plot of land with sufficient acreage to produce their own needs for food. Each home had its own above-ground root cellar and was designed to make the family as independent as possible. Local artisan workshops provided wage-earning jobs and community functions were housed in a town center building. This work in progress revisits that town to learn from the residents how the models have transformed with time. Most houses are still in existence, but with alterations to suit changing needs. The goal of this study is to see what insights of sustainable design can be gleaned from the lived experience of its residents over time. A mixed methods approach will be used, with both surveys and interviews used as tools within both a quantitative and qualitative framework. Expected results will find that longitudinal differences in family lifestyle are reflected in home renovations, and the demographic changes in family makeup have had a strong influence on home adaptations. As new generations of homeowners seek innovations in housing models, the historical lessons of Arthurdale can provide relevance.
- Compasso d'Oro and Changes in the Italian Domestic LandscapeWulfing, Kathryn Wells (Virginia Tech, 2003-06-30)The Compasso d'Oro (Golden Compass) prize has been awarded to outstanding industrial design products in Italy since 1954. Products range from common household tools to mass means of transportation. They represent a social, technological, and design history covering nearly five decades. This study explores the relationship between selected items of the Compasso d'Oro prizes, and discusses how they reflect the changes in technology, design, and society over five decades from 1950 to 2000. A computer-generated three-dimensional rendering of an interior of an apartment in Milan featured during each decade shows a living space with specific Compasso d'Oro objects that pertain to the domestic environment. A discussion of the themes the objects represent reveals the changes that have occurred during each decade as well as over the course of half a century. This examination helps designers understand the links between trends and objects in order to have a better comprehension of past, current, and future design environments.
- Connecting the City: A Vertical Farm for Baltimore's Food DesertOnukwubiri, Enyinnaya Tochukwu (Virginia Tech, 2017-10-31)The thesis analyzes Baltimore City's food network, and seeks a site which has the potential for several factors: site accessibility, renewable resources, solar exposure, and connecting the community. These factors serve as the basis in which to build a hybrid prototype that is able to expose people to the process of food production through a combination of traditional outdoor farming methods and indoor hydroponics in the form of a vertical farm.
- Dante, VA: Conceptual Redevelopment of the Dante DepotProctor, Nicholaus; Gilboy, Elizabeth; Tucker, Lisa M.; Roebuck, Kontessa; Tobias, Meredith; Piotrowski, Samantha; Smith, Victoria (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2018-07)This project was the third community planning project organized as Dante works to revitalize its community and downtown region. This third phase of work focused on the redevelopment of the Dante Depot. Using community feedback, the CDAC team proposed to redevelop the Dante Depot into a general store with a self-serve catering kitchen provides a local destination for visitors and the Dante community. Customers can experience the welcoming, historic atmosphere of the Depot while enjoying a cup of coffee or shopping in the general store, which offers local goods and crafts from the surrounding community.
- Dante, VA: Conceptual Redevelopment Plan for the Former Steam Building and Contura PropertiesProctor, Nicholaus; Gilboy, Elizabeth; Tucker, Lisa M.; Bolander, Madi; Diloia, Katelynn; Rosa, Anthony (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2020-04)The design provides an overarching vision for the former steam building and Contura properties that connects to surrounding community assets such as the historic African American church. It creates a space that welcomes creators, innovators, and educators, while still creating a space welcoming to all in the community. The site master plan also enhances parking opportunities, creates an outdoor design for the “The Plant: Collaboration Center for Innovation”, restructures the space in front of the Dante Coal Mining and Railroad Museum, and creates a new trailhead along Lower Bearwallow Road.
- Dr. Lillie Jackson Center for the Arts and Social JusticeGermansky, Hannah Constance (Virginia Tech, 2021-05-29)Architecture informs the structure of society, determining how people move, whose paths cross, and which resources are accessible. By merging social justice initiatives and architectural design, buildings have the power to provide equity, strengthen communities, and encourage dialogue. Empowerment of residents and the disruption of mass incarceration are the goals of this proposal, implemented through community engagement techniques and a mixed-use program supporting employment, job training, housing, social networks, and healing. Located in Midtown Edmondson's neighborhood of West Baltimore, this social justice center restores a dilapidated parcel of land and former ice factory. The proposed food hall, community center, and garden invite fluid exchange between this hub of resources and the larger society. Simultaneously, current inmates will have the opportunity to engage with the development process through a construction and design apprentice program. Former inmates will find immediate resources to ease the transition back into their community upon release, with supportive networks contributing towards lower recidivism rates and the restoration of voting ability and voice. In a cyclical process, upward individual and communal growth will be redistributed back into the community. Alongside these individuals, local residents are also invited into the fabric of this social justice center. The project offers interdisciplinary and multi-scalar design from landscape to interiors, adaptive reuse, to new build architecture. By acknowledging history, actively listening, and designing with intention, this project meets current needs and offers a unique perspective on social architecture. With human rights at the forefront of design decisions, the final proposal reveals that design has the power to incite and actively work towards social justice and disrupt systemically racist institutions, like mass incarceration.
- Enhancing the Indoor-Outdoor Visual Relationship: Framework for Developing and Integrating a 3D-Geospatial-Based Inside-Out Design Approach to the Design ProcessObeidat, Laith Mohammad (Virginia Tech, 2020-04-16)This research study aims to enhance the effectiveness of the architectural design process regarding the exploration and framing of the best visual connections to the outside environment within built environments. Specifically, it aims to develop a framework for developing and integrating an inside-out design approach augmented and informed by digital 3D geospatial data as a way to enhance the explorative ability and decision-making process for designers regarding the visual connection to the outside environment. To do so, the strategy of logical argumentation is used to analyze and study the phenomenon of making visual connections to a surrounding context. The initial recommendation of this stage is to integrate an inside-out design approach that operates within the digital immersion within 3D digital representations of the surrounding context. This strategy will help to identify the basic logical steps of the proposed inside-out design process. Then, the method of immersive case study is used to test and further develop a proposed process by designing a specific building, specifically, an Art Museum building on the campus of Virginia Tech. Finally, the Delphi method is used in order to evaluate the necessity and importance of the proposed approach to the design process and its ability to achieve this goal. A multi-round survey was distributed to measure the consensus among a number of experts regarding the proposed design approach and its developed design tool. Overall, findings refer to a total agreement among the participating experts regarding the proposed design approach with some different concerns regarding the proposed design tool.
- Examining the Status and Future of Design for Sustainable Behavior in Interior Design EducationHakky, Danya (Virginia Tech, 2016-11-23)Despite the building industry's commendable efforts for creating sustainable environments, numerous studies have shown buildings are not achieving the environmental goals designers and architects are predicting during the design phase. This has been attributed to a number of factors including occupants' unsustainable behavior patterns which affect the amount of energy and resources a building consumes. The effect of human behavior on sustainability has been studied by experts in various fields, it has not however, been sufficiently analyzed by interior designers. Although interior design authors have argued the field has transformed itself to an area concerned with human behavior, there currently are no established design processes or knowledge domains that can help interior designers understand and design to encourage sustainable behaviors. On the other hand, industrial designers have advanced Design for Sustainable Behavior DfSB, an area of research that intentionally uses design solutions to encourage sustainable behaviors. This research argued DfSB can help overcome the gap identified in interior design (ID) by providing ID with design strategies, design processes and precedent. As such this research focused on analyzing the current state of designing with the intention of changing behavior within ID education in order to reach recommendations for the integration of DfSB into ID. The first phase of the study involved a nationwide questionnaire distributed to ID faculty members to gauge the current state of DfSB within ID, including faculty members' attitudes towards it, barriers to integrating it, recommendations for content and teaching methods along with any ethical concerns that may arise from intentionally changing behavior through design. Concurrently, a review of top ID programs online material was conducted to identify the presence of DfSB within existing courses. This phase demonstrated faculty members hold positive attitudes towards DfSB despite their limited familiarity and knowledge of the field which was identified as one of the major barriers to its integration. Additionally, despite none of the programs indicating students are taught how to encourage sustainable behavior through design, it was apparent a foundation for DfSB exists within ID due to the presence of sustainable design courses, human factors, and some social science courses. Findings from the questionnaire spurred a group of questions that required a nuanced investigation through interviews with a sample of ID faculty. These interviews painted a clearer image of the current educational terrain and general directions within ID education. They also allowed the researcher to collate ideas for overcoming barriers to DfSB integration along with establishing recommendations for disseminating DfSB into ID education and practice in a manner that capitalizes on the resources currently available in ID and removes identified hindrances.
- A Framework for the Implementation of Lighting Design and Light Cognitive Tools in Kuwait's Design PedagogyAli, Shahd Mahmoud (Virginia Tech, 2022-04-12)Lighting is an important design element that affects human health, comfort levels, mood, feelings, and the overall experience in spaces. Academically, light is integrated late in design education. Architecture and interior design schools usually introduce it as a design principle during the second or third year of education. As a result, students perceive it as an additive element in the schematic or design development phases rather than a concept generator from the ideation phase. If we accept that lighting design is essential in the conceptual design phase in order to create better-performing light spaces, then a new lighting design integration is needed in design curricula to encourage students to think about it from the ideation phase, enhance their understanding of lighting design knowledge, and facilitate their cognitive thinking and decision-making processes to eventually produce better performing lighting design projects. The purpose of this research was to develop a new pedagogical framework for the integration of lighting design knowledge and lighting cognitive tools in design pedagogy to invite students to use it as a concept generator from the early design stages and to aid their cognitive thinking to produce high-quality lighting environments. The framework presents a learning path to introduce lighting design in a sequence from the first year of design education according to three main knowledge domains: the tacit, the procedural, and the explicit. The research contributes to shifting the current approach to lighting design education in Kuwait as an example and in architecture and interior design schools in general. The researcher used multiple sources of data to develop the framework. First, she reviewed scholarly work and the literature that address lighting design pedagogy, design pedagogical theories, design curricula development models, the lighting design process, and design cognitive tools to create a logical argument for the framework's theoretical structure and to develop its research methods. Second, she analyzed lighting design documents from the United States' developed lighting design programs and Kuwait University to understand the current lighting design pedagogical structure, teaching methods, cognitive design tools, and foundational lighting knowledge. Third, she interviewed current lighting design educators from Kuwait University to understand the current lighting pedagogical model and sequence. Fourth, she interviewed lighting design educators from the United States to obtain new foundational lighting knowledge, creative teaching methods, advanced design cognitive tools, and other suggestions to improve lighting design pedagogy. Fifth, the researcher transferred knowledge from the United States' developed programs to Kuwait University to develop the new framework. Lastly, she presented the preliminary framework to lighting design professionals and educators using a Delphi Method to enhance it further and to rate its implementation possibilities.
- House Legends and Perceptions of the Civil War: a Multiple Case Study on the Civil War Legends Told About Antebellum Homes in the New River Valley, Roanoke Valley, and Nearby Counties of VirginiaDale, Margaret Elizabeth (Virginia Tech, 2003-05-01)This study was designed to identify recurring themes in Civil War legends that are told in reference to antebellum homes in regions of Southwest Virginia. Existing literature indicates that collecting these legends is an important task because doing so helps others to better understand the community of legend-tellers. Previous research has also indicated that legends form a type of American mythology with reveals the way the legend-tellers perceive the specific subject they describe in the legends. Eight historic homes were visited in six southwestern counties of Virginia. Qualitative data were collected from a purposive sample of 12 participants who lived in these houses, previously lived in an historic house, or worked in an historic house museum. Each house was chosen as a site of inquiry because it has some significance for those interested in the Civil War or because it represents typical houses in similar southwestern Virginian communities during the Civil War era. In-depth interviews were the sole means of data collection and provided detailed and unlimited legends used to identify themes. The data were collected analyzed using a multiple case study approach. The findings from this study indicate that Civil War legends are being told in reference to antebellum homes in Southwest Virginia. Additionally, the tellers of the legends have common thoughts about the Civil War. The three major conclusions made in this study are (1) northern soldiers were aggressors during the Civil War; (2) southerners were strong during the Civil War; and (3) ghosts and ghostly activity serve as reminders of the Civil War. By continuing to share these legends, the tellers indicate their own perspectives of the Civil War as well as the perspectives of those who originate the legends. The legend-tellers also provide insight into the culture of today's southwestern Virginians as well as the Civil War era southwestern Virginians.
- Intergenerational Facilities: Designing Intergenerational Space through a Human Development LensNorouzi, Neda (Virginia Tech, 2016-05-05)The built environment can be structured to encourage or discourage social interaction and can have effects on children's cognitive, social, and emotional development as well as effects on elder's health and well-being. Knowing the profound influence of the built environment on elders (Garin, et al., 2014) and children (Bradford, 2012), the design of intergenerational spaces therefore has the potential to influence the interaction between elders and children engaged in intergenerational programming. Intergenerational care programs present opportunities for cooperation and exchange of skills, knowledge, and experience between people of different age groups (Bradford, 2012; Jarrott, 2011; Kaplan et al., 2002; Newman, 1997). Highlighting the common points and connections between architectural phenomenology and human development theories, this study presents the benefit of developmental theories being applied empirically in architectural design when creating intergenerational facilities in order to enhance the quality of intergenerational interactions. To address this goal, this study examines physical environments that can effectively and efficiently provide intergenerational services. The objectives of this study are to find out (1) whether or not the identification and adaptation of human development theories and architectural phenomenology inform the extension of normative design for intergenerational facilities and (2) in what ways do architectural conditions of an intergenerational space meet the needs of multiple age groups and facilitates interaction. The study uses grounded theory framework to develop a theory related to the influence of spatial design on the quality of intergenerational interactions. To accomplish this, a phenomenological description of different intergenerational spaces was conducted, followed by four to six hours of behavioral/observation mapping of the intergenerational space. The investigator interviewed the architect(s) to ascertain their main ideas and the purpose of designing the building, and the people (participants, educators, coordinators, and facilitators) involved with the intergenerational programs to indicate how the space influences intergenerational interaction. The result of reviewing and analyzing the collected data is a new model of design process grounded in theoretical tenets of personhood and contact theory and applicable for designing intergenerational facilities.
- Marion, VA: Octagon House Barn Complex Conceptual DesignProctor, Nicholaus; Gilboy, Elizabeth; Tucker, Lisa M.; Twillman, Haley; Nguyen, Stephanie; Rowden, Jennalee; Peterson, Jessica (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2019-02)The Abijah Thomas House is an octagon house, which was a part of the trend of octagon architecture of 1850s America. The house was completed in 1858 for Abijah Thomas of Smyth County, who was a property, slave owner, and owner of Holston Woolen Mills and a pig iron furnace also in the Smyth County area. The house and property around it consisted of 400 acres and was assessed at being worth $5,000 in 1857. The Octagon House and its restored period-specific surrounding landscape has the potential to be a major historical attraction in the region. With the surrounding structures carefully considered in the design, the entire property has the ability to become a destination for day visitors, hikers from the nearby Appalachian Trail, and history enthusiasts. The current property and adjacent properties (to be acquired in the future) contain large open areas as well as dense hardwood forest. In a recently completed site master plan, supporting structures are located in approximate historical locations. These include two barn structures that flank the center axis of the Octagon House. This barn complex provides intentional spaces for events and lodging opportunities with a mix between public, semi-public, and private rooms.
- Mendota, VA: Conceptual Redevelopment Plan for the Benfield StoreProctor, Nicholaus; Gilboy, Elizabeth; Tucker, Lisa M.; Chance, Alisa; Crouse, Kaitey; Robertson, Nicole (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2019-04-17)The purpose of this project was to work with a stakeholders committee, which included the property owner, representatives of Mountain Heritage, Inc. and other community members to identify possible new uses for the former Benfield Store and concrete slab immediately adjacent to the east side of the building.
- RE-Design / RE-HabilitateKuhn, Alexander Rudolf (Virginia Tech, 2022-07-05)During the last decade, criminal justice and prison reform in the United States has been at the core of many social organizations, rallies and protests throughout the country. While most concerns aim for increased policing, legislative change and the reduction of incarceration rates altogether, the current living conditions for inmates prove to have a significant impact on their psychological wellbeing and ultimately rehabilitation. The experience of an inmate inside a prison appears to be only a small part of the wider issue, however. The U.S. currently holds the highest incarceration rates as well as the highest rate of re-offending in the world, creating a cycle that sustains high crime levels, lack of development opportunities and no coherent plan for a successful rehabilitation. This can be partially attributed to most inmates receiving poor preparation for the outside world, without incentivizing a return to a familiar environment. Together this creates a difficult barrier between the inmates and the general public. The experience while serving a sentence can drastically affect the potential of re-offending. The seclusive approach of most jails and prisons in the US creates an internal society that differs greatly from the society to which inmates are exposed after their sentence has been served. A disassociation and hostility from the general public towards convicts further stigmatizes any interaction between them and the prisoners who ultimately will rejoin that same public. While many of the challenges faced by inmates when re-introduced into the outside society can be alleviated by policy changes, also architecture has the potential to assist in the reform the internal experience of inmates. The hypothesis here proposes that the design of a prison should be closer to an analogy of the outside world in order to generate a greater familiarity with the structures of a society in which they ultimately will have to operate after rehabilitation. This project seeks to create a micro-urban condition within an urban prison through various architectural conditions. Home, neighborhood, city are ideological moments with architectural principles that form the basis of this design approach. The elongation of the typically short paths suggests a sense of commuting. A separation of functional spaces from living spaces, combined with spaces for integration where inmates and public can meet denotes the second major deviation from a typical prison program. While still a controlled environment, it more parallels the lives of the general public, an attempt to diminish the experiential boundaries faced by inmates when they are released.
- Resilient Experiments in Rural Housing: Architectural Experiments in Planned HousingGalford, Gregory; Tucker, Lisa M. (2021-11-18)Single family houses contribute substantially to climate change in the US and other parts of the world. In the US specifically, most housing has been designed by builders and developers. The motivation has not been sustainability and a knowledge of how to design net zero energy and net zero water dwelling is not commonly understood. This paper seeks to use a historical model as viewed through the lens of the Living Building Challenge to demonstrate how an architect designed historic example might provide a way of implementing a cutting-edge approach to sustainable housing today. Arthurdale was an early 20th century housing experiment that was conceptualized to provide for sustainable living in rural Appalachia. This paper presents the history of the region, an overview of the houses and the Living Building Challenge and then analyses how this historic prototype might model a sustainable housing development today using the Living Building Challenge system.
- St. Paul, VA: Conceptual Redevelopment Plan for the Ice HouseProctor, Nicholaus; Gilboy, Elizabeth; Tucker, Lisa M. (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2021-07)The Community Design Assistance Center and Cardno, the environmental consultant working with CDAC, worked with a Stakeholders Committee formed by St Paul Tomorrow, Inc. to create a redevelopment plan for the former ice house on the western portion of Riverside Drive. The final conceptual redevelopment plan augments the conceptual master plan for the Riverside Drive corridor that was completed by CDAC in fall 2019 which provides a vision for addressing physical blight and underutilized properties along Riverside Drive. This will help ensure that St. Paul is an attractive, inviting destination for visitors and entrepreneurs. The final design concept redevelops the ice house into a small ice cream shop. The design is inspired by the process of making ice cream in order to create a fun and tasty treat. This involves starting with a base flavor followed by adding custom toppings. The building’s facade has vivid colors and whimsical forms to create a lively and energetic customer experience.
- St. Paul, VA: Conceptual Redevelopment Plan for the Western Front BuildingProctor, Nicholaus; Gilboy, Elizabeth; Tucker, Lisa M. (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2021-06-29)The Community Design Assistance Center and Cardno worked with a Stakeholders Committee formed by St Paul Tomorrow, Inc. to create a redevelopment plan for the Western Front building on Riverside Drive. The “Western Front building” included in this project should not to be confused with the “Western Front Hotel” that is located on 4th Avenue. The Western Front building on Riverside Drive is also known locally as “the Deen Building”. The final conceptual redevelopment plan augments the conceptual master plan for the Riverside Drive corridor that was completed by CDAC in fall 2019 which provides a vision for addressing physical blight and underutilized properties along Riverside Drive. This will help ensure that St. Paul is an attractive, inviting destination for visitors and entrepreneurs. The final design concept transforms the Western Front building into a lively distillery. The distillery concepts draws inspiration from the 1920s-era bar and saloon history of Riverside Drive as an iconic moment in St. Paul’s past. The distillery and tasting room is a place to have a medium to upscale spirit tasting and dining experience in a small town setting. The interior spaces incorporate visual elements of a speakeasy-esque atmosphere with lounge seating and rich woods paired with jewel tone colors.
- Sustainable Arthurdale: A Reevalution of a 1930s Planned CommunityGalford, Gregory; Tucker, Lisa M.; Martin, Lou (University of Illinois Press, 2023-05-05)The Great Depression affected Appalachian towns with severe economic distress and dislocation. This research focuses on a New Deal experiment in sustainable housing initiated by Eleanor Roosevelt. Early in her husband’s administration, she championed the design and construction of the planned community of Arthurdale, West Virginia. Composed of single-family homes built during three phases with a central complex of shared services, the planned town of Arthurdale has retained connections to several original residents and maintains a strong sense of community and belonging. This research explores the community design components—particularly the innovative education system—of Arthurdale, coupled with the sustainable features inherent in the houses and its approach to sustenance farming, and considers the impact on the long-term success of the residents. For this work, a mixed-methods approach was used with an initial quantitative survey and a subsequent focus group. Survey results indicated that themes of sustainability, community, and education were values that were uniquely shared by original town residents and subsequent generations. These values can affect contemporary models of sustainable community development.
- Whitetop, VA: Conceptual Redevelopment Plan for the Mount Rogers School and Conceptual Site Master PlanProctor, Nicholaus; Gilboy, Elizabeth; Diloia, Katelynn; Williams, Merryn; Troia, Joey; Hutchings, Madison; Tucker, Lisa M. (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2021-04-19)The original four-room Mount Rogers Combined School was built around 1932 in Whitetop, which was mainly a farming community settled in the early 1800s. The 2,200 square foot building sits on approximately 5 acres of land and included grades one through eleven. The exterior of the original portion of the school is uniquely constructed from tumbled rocks. It is believed that the rocks were pulled in by horse and sled from a nearby creek. When the school opened, there were four teachers with an enrollment of somewhere between 80 and 100 students. Today, the building is unoccupied. Though the original rock-portion of the school is in relatively good condition, the 1950s addition is in poor condition. There are a number of roof leaks in the 1950s addition that have caused substantial structure damage and environmental hazards such as black mold. The extent of damage to the 1950s addition requires that it be demolished. Given its structural integrity, historical architectural significance, and its contributions to the cultural heritage of the Grayson County/Whitetop community, there is interest in redeveloping the original rock portion of the school. This design process provides the community with a graphic vision for the redevelopment of the remaining structure. There has been discussion among community leaders and community members that the Mount Rogers School, once redeveloped, would be an ideal facility to leverage various tourism, outdoor recreation, and cultural heritage attractions that are nearby. Some of these include Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain (Virginia’s first and second highest mountains), Whitetop folk festivals, traditions and celebrations associating with the growing/harvesting of Christmas trees, and Grayson Highlands State Park. In addition, there is a growing relationship between Grayson County and West Jefferson, NC that creates the potential for a community partnership surrounding outdoor tourism. The Community Design Assistance Center worked with a Stakeholders Committee to develop a conceptual redevelopment plan for the Mount Rogers School and ~5-acre property.