The Source for Richmond Architecture and Design Information

The Wrong Solution to the Right Problem: Articulated Buses

  The state of public transit in Richmond may not be strong, but we are more fortunate than many US cities of our size to be served by the Greater Richmond Transit Company, or GRTC. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, GRTC has outperformed many other systems, in part because of the “Zero Fare” policy instituted during …

Nonesuch Place: A History of the Richmond Landscape

T. Tyler Potterfield2009The History Press157 pages All cities are shaped by the landscapes on which they are built. The great harbors of New York and Hong Kong made those cities into the hubs of international trade we know today. Istanbul’s position on the Bosporus strait has made it a meeting point of cultures for nearly …

The Future of Lee Circle

Since January 2021, a fence has surrounded Lee Circle on Monument Avenue, blocking access to the once-vital center of public demonstrations sparked by the murder of George Floyd. Local and national media attention was lavished on the paint-covered base of the Lee Monument, which was rightly hailed as among the greatest works of protest art …

Reading List: Twentieth-Century Richmond: Planning, Politics, and Race 

Christopher Silver1984University of Tennessee Press342 pages Why does Richmond look the way it looks? Why are highways located where they are? Where did the line between Richmond and Henrico originate? Why have we settled this region in sprawling suburbs instead of compact districts? Why are the interests of minorities and the poor consistently sidelined in …

Interview: Dave Johannas

Dave Johannas is the principal at Johannas Design Group (JDG), as well as a member of the planning commission for the city and the Commission of Architectural Review. We have previously featured the Mews at Cary Mill from JDG. What is the underlying philosophy or mission of the work done at Johannas Design Group, and …