| Virtual Studio
Lee County, VA Housing Workshop
thank you for VISITING!
Hill Studio is tasked with creating a master plan supporting the development of housing in Western Lee County, VA. By collaborating with local stakeholders, we aim to guide housing development for student, staff, and faculty of the DeBusk Veterinary Teaching Center (DVTC) who have identified lack of housing as a major issue in the region.
We aim to create a master plan that can provide much more than housing for DVTC. The scenic and historically rich landscape can host an attractive place-based community that can be an asset to both the college community and local residents. By exploring mixed-use opportunities and avenues to incorporate outdoor recreation and community gathering spaces, we can create a “sense of place” that serves the whole community.
Although the global pandemic keeps us apart, with resilience and perseverance we can still come together online. Through this virtual workshop, we are developing a community-tested master planning process for housing that incorporates the needs and wants of everyone in the community. The more we learn from you, the better informed our work will be.
Our virtual workshop will house concepts and collaborative ideas that emerge from this project. We invite you to make your voice heard and help us envision what this community could become.
DESIGN CONCEPTS
Take a look at what we have developed so far regarding the building and site concepts and provide your thoughts on each page!
Click button to see the property chosen for detailed design concepts!
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
College Student housing case studies
We began our research by studying almost a dozen benchmark examples of different housing types that provide strategic planning and design lessons for veterinary student residences and community living in rural setting.
Learn more about these case studies by watching this video and then let us know your thoughts by clicking on the link!
PROPERTY LOCATIONS OF INTEREST
Take a look at the current list of potentially developable properties we are considering for this housing development. Criteria included a minimum size of 30 acres, proximity to the DVTC and LMU campuses, and the proximity to the regional highway/utility corridors.
View the sites here and then let us know your thoughts by clicking on the link!
Land Characteristic Analysis
Continuing from the list provided above of potential properties, we further assessed some important land characteristics that impact development. These characteristics included hillshade topography, slope percent, slope orientation, flood hazards, and sinkhole susceptibility.
View the sites here and then let us know your thoughts by clicking on the link!
housing design principles
Our guiding principles for this housing study were derived from initial roundtable discussions with students and staff at DVTC, local residents, and county representatives. We also pulled in the lessons learned from our case study research.
Listen to them here and then let us know your thoughts by clicking on the link!
SURVEYS
COMMUNITY SURVEY
An overarching goal for this housing study is to seamlessly integrate this new housing development within the context of the greater Lee County community. In order to do that, we must also learn the needs and wants of the local county residents. If you are a Lee County resident or consider yourself a stakeholder in the development of this housing community, we invite you to take the survey at the link below. (Please note, the alternative survey for DVTC students is now closed.) We appreciate your time and input in contributing to this project!
COLLEGE STUDENT RESULTS
As a kick-off to this project, students, staff, and faculty of the Lincoln Memorial University - College of Veterinary Medicine were given a survey so we could better understand their housing wants and needs. The results from the 170 participants that contributed to this survey can be viewed below.
internal design ChaRrette
Hill Studio planners and architects hard at work conceptualizing the future development design elements and strategies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The project is sponsored by Lee County and assisted by the LENOWISCO Planning District Commission (PDC), the regional planning agency serving Lee, Scott, and Wise Counties, and the City of Norton in far southwestern Virginia. Funding for the planning project is provided by the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA).
overall Feedback
We would love to hear your thoughts! Please fill out the form below with any thoughts, comments, questions, and/or suggestions.