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Central Virginia Construction Specifications Institute will be hosting the 2009 Middle Atlantic Region Conference in historical Charlottesville, Virginia on October 8-11. The conference will be held at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel, located on the city’Äôs downtown pedestrian mall at the heart of the city. Our conference theme is Sustaining Mr. Jefferson's Legacy, Designing for the Future.

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the city of Charlottesville is rich with history. Three of our nation’Äôs founding presidents lived in the area, James Madison, James Monroe, and, of course, Mr. Jefferson. There are many significant historical buildings dotted throughout the area, but none are so revered as Jefferson’Äôs University of Virginia. The UVA grounds are a magnificent testimony to Jefferson’Äôs aesthetics and ingenuity. The University rotunda is often recognized as one of the most important buildings in United States history.

With such a remarkable architectural masterpiece standing at the center of grounds, the University has had a lot of trouble moving forward sustainably. While Jefferson was a promoter of change, discovery, and technology, UVA has tended to look to its past to guide new construction. This way of thinking has resulted in failed buildings, both architecturally and functionally; too steeped in the past to prepare for the future.

The goal of our conference is to look at the University’Äôs past, and how that might shape its future. We will be focusing on two very large University projects that promise to be moving in a more sustainable direction. One of these projects promises to look into the healing power of building technology, the other, into how a building might promote learning and environmental responsibility.