VMDO Architects

In early 2015, VMDO Architects was chosen to partner with The Miller School of Albemarle for a board range of design services on the school’s picturesque 1,600-acre campus in Albemarle County, Virginia. Initial services included a review of the school’s master plan, support for its capital campaign, design of a multi-purpose indoor tennis facility, and design of the renovations and restoration of the signature “Old Main” Building, a Virginia Historic Landmark designed by Albert Lybrock and opened in 1878.

The Miller School of Albemarle opened in 1878 with an initial enrollment of thirty-three students, becoming one of the nation’s earliest coeducational boarding schools in 1884 with the addition of female students. The current enrollment is approximately 185 students in grades 8 through 12 and post-graduate, with approximately 60% day students, 40% boarding, and a gender mix of 60/40 males to females.

Miller’s campus is a beautiful site with a wealth of natural resources including hydrology and developed old growth trees. In 1883, Thomas Edison’s company designed and supervised the installation of one of the first hydroelectric generators on site. This served as the school’s first electric power plant, two Edison Style “K” dynamos and 250 incandescent light bulbs. The hydraulic wheels can still be seen on site today.