About
Design is a dialogue.
Between client and designer.
Between landscape and building.
Between the sun and the shadows on a wall.
Between the weight of materials and the need to create shelter.
Between the history of a place and the aspirations for its future.
Between a space and the event within.
Design is a fugue of overlapping voices.
Awards & Recognition
Year
Project
Award
2022
Heirloom Farm Studio
Award of Honor | Small Projects | AIA Virginia
2022
Heirloom Farm Studio
Winner | Small Buildings | World Design Awards
2022
Heirloom Farm Studio
Winner | Small Architecture | Architecture MasterPrize
2021
600 West Main Street
Winner | Mixed-Use Architecture | TAC World Design Awards
2021
600 West Main Street
Bronze Award in Best New Development & Design | Multi Housing News
2021
600 West Main Street
Honorable Mention | Architecture MasterPrize
2021
Center at Belvedere
AIA Design for Aging Review Award of Merit
2021
Downtown Loft
Honor Award | RD Residential Design Architecture Awards
2021
Downton Loft
Silver Winner | Residential Interior | MUSE Design Awards
2021
Downtown Loft
Best of Best Interior Design Award | Architecture MasterPrize
2020
600 West Main Street
Merit Award for Excellence in Contextual Design | AIA Central Virginia
2020
600 West Main Street
Runner-Up | Mixed Use | Architecture, Construction & Design Awards
2020
Downtown Loft
Architect of the Year Award | The Architecture Community
2020
Downtown Loft
Merit Award for Excellence in Interior Design | AIA Central Virginia
2020
Downtown Loft
A+ Awards Popular Choice Winner | Architizer
2020
Downtown Loft
A+ Awards Jury Winner | Architizer
2020
Downtown Loft
Winner | Residential Interiors | Architecture, Construction & Design Awards
2020
Live Arts Theater
Merit Award for Excellence in Interior Design | AIA Central Virginia
2020
Mossy Rock House
Residential Honor Award | AIA Central Virginia
2019
Downtown Loft
Merit Award for Excellence in Interior Design | AIA Virginia
2019
Downtown Loft
Kitchen & Bath Award | Architectural Record
2019
Mossy Rock House
Honor Award for Excellence in Residential Design | AIA Virginia
2017
Heirloom Farm Cottage
Merit Award for Excellence in Residential Design | AIA Virginia
2014
Bushman Dreyfus Architects
Charlottesville’s Top Twenty | C-Ville Weekly
2014
Jefferson School City Center
Best New Renovation or Addition | Virginia Restoration and Parks Society
2013
Jefferson School City Center
Award of Excellence for Building Development and Improvement | Virginia Downtown Developers Association
2013
Jefferson School City Center
Outstanding Community Preservation Project | Preservation Virginia
2009
1906 Lodge
Orchid Award for Historic Preservation | San Diego Architectural Foundation
2009
1906 Lodge
Adaptive Reuse Award | San Diego County Save Our Heritage Organization
2009
Paramount Theater
Preservation Award | City of Charlottesville
2009
Paramount Theater
Preservation Award | Virginia Society AIA
2005
Live Arts Theater
Preservation Award for New Construction in a Historic District | City of Charlottesville
2005
Rugby Road Kitchen
Merit Award | Inform Magazine
2005
Rugby Road Kitchen
Merit Award for Excellence in Interior Design | AIA Virginia
2005
Splendora's Gelato Cafe
Preservation Award | City of Charlottesville
2004
Bollingwood House
Private Preservation Project of the Year | The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities
2004
TNC Cobb Station Conservation Lodge
Palladio Award for Adaptive Reuse
2002
Chopping Bottom
House of the Year | Metropolitan Home
Paramount Theater
National Register of Historic Places Listed Structure
TNC Cobb Station Conservation Lodge
National Register of Historic Places Listed Structure
WHO WE ARE
Bushman Dreyfus Architects is located in Charlottesville, Virginia. Our firm was founded to bridge a divide between the extraordinary responsiveness of a small organization with the knowledge and depth of a larger one. We started small: the first project was a steel birdhouse designed for a charity auction in 1992, followed by winning a competition for the public amphitheater in Charlottesville. Today most of our built work is in Virginia, but we also have clients and projects in California, Florida, Liberia, Hawaii, Louisiana, and New York. Our expertise is design. Our focus is on clarity of communication. Our goal is consensus, as in E pluribus unum. Out of many voices, one.
People drive our creative process, not software or tools. Collectively, our diverse interests beyond architecture include teaching, community outreach, scenic design, dance, music, craft, graphic design, and writing. These ventures add cultural richness to our work and introduce exciting, useful perspectives to the array of effective solutions to a problem.
WHAT WE DO
We focus not on a particular size or type of project, but rather on creating partnerships with clients to build a better community, enrich lives, enhance the environment, and make something beautiful. Our portfolio ranges from urban design to exhibit design, from houses to hotels, from vineyards to community centers, from art galleries to theaters. Our care and devotion to purpose is the same for all.
WHAT WE FOCUS ON
At BDA our mission is to improve nature and culture through design. Through our projects, we strive to foster social interaction and to make rituals and events meaningful, whether around a family dining table or on the stage of a theatre. Our designs foster opportunities for people to interact with the environment.
Most design initiatives present conflicting requirements, intentions, and desires. Our belief is that design leadership, combined with a willingness to hear all voices, will open interesting and often unexpected paths forward. This applies to interaction with public agencies, client relationships, the solving of technical problems, or diverse community charrettes.
