Mr. Jefferson's University of Virginia

The University of Virginia Rotunda and Colonnades

The University of Virginia, often referred to as Mr. Jefferson's University was indeed the brainchild of President Thomas Jefferson. As early as 1800, then Vice President Jefferson had written of his plans for a public University.

The University of Virginia was not the first college in Virginia. The College of William and Mary predates it and Jefferson himself had studied there. However Thomas Jefferson had major problems with the religious bias of the College of William and Mary, as well as other Universities of the time in America, such as King's College in New York, Yale in Connecticut and Harvard in Boston. These Universities were descendants of the monastic like universities of Europe and thus centered around theology. Jefferson had wanted to create a University with a greater emphasis on Science and a innovative new socialized method of learning. At that time college's permitted only degrees in law, medicine and religion. This curriculum presented major deficiencies to Jefferson's scientific oriented mind.

The land upon which the University of Virginia sits was originally owned by President James Monroe as farm land. It was sold to the University during James Monroe's Presidency. The University of Virginia was revolutionary for it's time in terms of it's curriculum, educational methodology and physical form. Thomas Jefferson insisted that theology be eliminated from the course offerings and instead focused on areas of education with which Jefferson was himself personally enamored with including, botany, architecture and political science.


University of Virginia Academic Village Plan - Image Via Wikicommons

The exclusion of theology had major implications for the physical layout of Jefferson's University. For the first time a library, representing knowledge was selected to be the most important building of a University, instead of a church, which had traditionally been the centerpiece of Universities up until the University of Virginia. Jefferson's selection of Library as the focal point of the University was revolutionary and represented a break between institutions of higher learning and the church.


The Rotunda or Library


Inside The Rotunda

Equally, as revolutionary as Jefferson's decision to use a library as the University's focal point was the remainder of the design of Jefferson's "academic village". The Pantheon inspired library, often referred to as "the rotunda" is located at the northern most end of the great lawn. The lawn's edges are defined by a series 10 pavilions. Each pavilion included space for professors to live on the upper floors and classroom space on the lower floors. These educational pavilions each have a rear garden enclosed by a brick, sine curve like wall for structural stability. The 10 pavilions, all which are architecturally unique are connected by student housing. Beyond the rear gardens lies additional building including dining halls.


Sine Curve Shaped Rear Garden Wall

The professor's pavilions and student housing are connected by a continuous colonnade, linking them to the famous rotunda. Jefferson had intended for students and faculty to interact, live and learn all together. From a social and organizational stand point was also new and unique in comparison to the top down, hierarchical organization of the University of Virginia's contemporaries. The architectural style and detail of the University was brick and featured classical Roman revival elements. It was highly influenced by one of President Jefferson's favorite architects, the great classicist, Andrea Palladio.


Professor's Quarters and Class room


View Of Colonnade

The great lawn of the academic village was the formal garden and main public space of the campus, in opposition to the more private rear yard gardens of the pavilions. The lawn is terraced down in order to deal with hilly topography of Charlottesville. The lawn is flanked on each side by a formal, french influenced, alley of trees.


University of Virginia Academic Village

The University of Virginia's design ultimately became the paradigm for American collegiate campus design. The formal lawn, library as the spiritual center of campus, brick palladian revival ornamentation and alley of tree laden campus influenced campuses all across America. Rice University, The University of Maryland, Duke University, John Hopkins University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology all owe an enormous debt to the University of Virginia in terms of physical form and spatial organization. The influence of Mr. Jefferson's University cannot be understated. It truly changed the world.