The mission of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation is to attract graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral candidates to the University of Virginia of extraordinary intellectual range and depth. The Foundation is building a physical and intellectual center for its Graduate Fellows, to bring them together and form a sense of community around leadership, scholarship, and citizenship.

Fellows involved in the planning of the project stressed the importance of a design that would be intensely forward-looking in its solutions and materials but also serve in the spirit of Jefferson’s architecture and academia. Through its rich spatial interplay, the Center is designed to facilitate conversation, study, research, and teaching. It is meant to act as a source of inspiration, a place of interaction, and a locus for the exchange of ideas.

The project consists of three main components. The Graduate Fellows space includes diverse, flexible programming including a multi-purpose hall, library reading room, classrooms, and research and study spaces. This is supplemented with Foundation Administrative Office space, as well as a picturesque Courtyard that provides a venue for contemplation, respite, and a wide range of functions. Abundant windows and clerestory glazing offer transparency to the courtyard and the additional wings, which are situated in a way to allow easy movement between inside and outside. Conceived with a powerful sense of place, the Center acts as a lighted beacon to the University and a forum where Fellows can share their learning with a broad audience.