Crozet Gazette

U.Va. Students Improve Garden Patio at Mountainside Senior Living

June 4, 2011

2496

By Megan Dierolf

U.Va. architecture and landscape architecture students Ryan Ives, Delia Kulukundis, Sophia Lee, Sydnor Scholer and friend Jess Wilkes behind their newly installed screen. — U.Va. architecture and landscape architecture students Ryan Ives, Delia Kulukundis, Sophia Lee, Sydnor Scholer and friend Jesse Wilkes behind their newly installed screen.

Mountainside Senior Living’s garden and patio received a new wheelchair-accessible picnic table and a wood screen that separates the patios from cars approaching the loading dock in May thanks to four University of Virginia graduate and undergraduate students taking an architectural studio course called “Tools for Conviviality” taught by professors Lucia Phinney and Lionel Devlieger. Class participant Sophia Lee described the intent of the studio as a way “to uncover how the wood industry works in Virginia. We desired to discover potentially unknown sources of recyclable wood.”

The students discussed the current challenges of the garden area with June King and Tammy Sue Besecker of Mountainside Senior Living. Two problems stood out prominently. One was the lack of wheelchair-accessible tables. Many residents use wheelchairs. Another was the patio edge near the loading dock where residents can feel threatened when cars pull up. The students decided to build a table that is wheelchair accessible and a screen to block cars from the garden.

Mountainside Senior Living Administrator June King demonstrates how the new table comfortably accommodates wheel chairs.

They split up into two smaller teams to work on their projects. “Team table” included Ryan Ives and Delia Kulukundis, while “team screen” was made up of Sydnor Scholer and Sophia Lee. “Team screen” learned that four feet was the best height for their screen. At that height, residents who sit at the picnic table will not be able to see cars, but they will be able to continue to enjoy the gorgeous mountain views that Crozet has to offer.

“Team table” tested different types of wood. They tried heavy vs. light sanding. They experimented with multiple ways to attach the base to the top. The team also worked on finding a way to re-use wood outside and not have it rot. Kulukundis and Ives settled on using a shake mosaic for the table’s surface.

The teams presented their workMarch 19 in an exhibit called “Woodflows: Tracking Virginia Forest Products from Whips to Waste.” After the exhibit, the building and installation process took place for about six weeks.

Phinney evaluated the students’ final installation at Mountainside on May 13.

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