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A Bright Site for Wellness and Community
A Bright Site for Wellness and Community
Since the opening of the new Student Health & Wellness Center in the fall of 2021, there has been steady progress on the redevelopment of Brandon Avenue. Along with Bond House, which opened in 2019, two new residential halls are joining the neighborhood: the Gaston and Ramazani houses, named for former faculty members Paul Gaston and Rouhollah “Ruhi” Ramazani.
Teamed with landscape architects and planners at Perkins and Will, the University developed the 2016 Green Street Master Plan, which established a guiding vision for the new mixed-use district. Today, an innovative central landscape teaches visitors about on-site stormwater management and provides attractive outdoor gathering areas. The multifunctional open space invites students to explore and enrich their academic and personal lives.
The Student Health & Wellness Center is now at the heart of a walkable and bikeable community that encourages outdoor activities and promotes a healthy lifestyle. Within steps of the Lawn, this new setting complements and extends the energy and beauty of the Grounds and connects with the larger Charlottesville community. The project received a 2023 Southeast American Society of Landscape Architects merit award for design.
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Interior spaces of the Student Health & Wellness Center were designed to promote well-being and provide comfortable places for students to gather.
A High Point: Ranked No. 1
UVA students give the health services offered at the Student Health & Wellness Center very high marks. In The Princeton Review’s “Best 389 Colleges: 2024 Edition” rankings, UVA was rated No. 1 for student health services. The ranking is based on students’ answers to the survey question, “How do you rate your school’s campus health services?”
The four-story, 156,000-square-foot facility, designed by Duda Paine Architects & VMDO Architects, was partially funded with a $40 million lead gift from an anonymous donor. The center includes Medical Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, the Student Disability Access Center, and the Office of Health Promotion. The space has numerous special features such as a teaching kitchen, a pharmacy, and a student lounge. It is also the first higher education building in Virginia to earn two out of three stars certified by FitWel Center for Active Design. Fitwel is a building-certification system that focuses on improving, enhancing, and safeguarding the health and well-being of building occupants.
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Scheduled to open in fall 2024, Gaston House (lower left) and Ramazani House (lower right) are across the street from the new Student Health & Wellness Center and close to Grounds.
The Fried Center for the Advancement of Potential
As of February 2024, the new Fried Center at the Student Health & Wellness Center is now fully operational and open to students. The center focuses on “functional exercise,” which helps people with everyday activities through a series of compound movements, combining personal training and physical therapy.
The center is named for its benefactor, Barbara Fried, who served two terms on the University’s Board of Visitors and is the founder of Innisfree Village, a residential working farm for people with intellectual disabilities. The new center is a partner facility with the Fried Center in Albemarle County, which primarily assists residents of Innisfree Village.
Graduate and undergraduate students can find internship opportunities at both the Fried Center in Albemarle and the new Fried Center at UVA. Offering the center’s services as well as training those who provide the services help achieve the Student Health & Wellness Center’s goal for greater emphasis on preventative and wellness care.