More than a decade after the Rotunda reopened following a major renovation, the University of Virginia has completed a key piece of the project: redesigning Shannon Courtyard as a welcoming gathering place at the heart of Grounds.
When the Rotunda was renovated in 2015, the east courtyard, named after former UVA President Colgate Darden, had a fountain and was intended as a contemplative courtyard. The west courtyard, named after former President Edgar Shannon, was intended to be the social courtyard, but was not completed due to budget constraints.
“At the time, the University rebuilt the Shannon Court with four simple planting beds and new brick and concrete paving,” Rachel Lloyd, senior landscape architect in the Office of the Architect for the University, told the Commonwealth of Virginia Art and Architectural Review Board. “In 2023, the University began the process to complete the Shannon Court’s design according to the principles in the landscape master plan.”
New trees, flowering plants, built-in seating and movable tables will create a shaded gathering space in the Shannon Courtyard. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
The renovated Shannon Courtyard, designed by Wolf Josey Landscape Architects of Charlottesville and scheduled for completion next month, complements the Darden Courtyard.
The space features six raised planting beds with built-in seating, marble elements that complement Darden Court’s fountain, and new trees and landscaping intended to add visual interest. A sandstone-paved central gathering area, along with movable tables and chairs, provides flexible space for everyday use and for formal and informal events.
“The seat walls will have a very similar profile to the water feature in the Darden courtyard, so they’ll have a lot of visual similarities, even though their uses and their layouts will be very different,” project director Sarita Herman said. “The planters will be filled with small trees and understory flowering perennials and bulbs, so there will be a lot more vegetation than was there before to create some shade, because it’s a very sunny courtyard that could be kind of unpleasant in the summer.”
The new planters contain American hophornbeam trees, a small, slow-growing deciduous tree.
