Statement

No sunrise is exactly the same as the next. And similarly, no trailer park is identical. Like each sunrise, each trailer park has
its own identity and defining characteristics. The challenge then, is to create a replicable model for the redevelopment of trailer parks across the United States while simultaneously maintaining the strong sense of place and community that already exists in the Belmont neighborhood of Charlottesville.

Re-new, don’t re-invent. The SUNRISE plan seeks to leverage the trailer park’s assets — a strong sense of community, compact housing, multiple and flexible use of open space, and a spectacular mountain view. Additionally, the SUNRISE plan aims to leverage existing infrastructure — sanitary layout, internal vehicular circulation patterns, and trees — while better weaving the block into the physical fabric of the larger neighborhood.

Flexible design is sustainable. SUNRISE is a replicable framework that allows for a variety of residential typologies to be ‘plugged in’ depending on climatic, cultural and financial constraints. Providing a mix of building uses and neighborhood amenities, it is designed to attract an economically diverse group of residents who value community life.

Jury Comments

This design has a strong orientation to the existing site and sensitivity to the desires of the residents. Jurors commented on the easy, relaxed, Southern personality of the site plan. The attention to phasing will allow current residents not to be displaced from their trailers until well into the construction process. Jurors also noted that, while other designs used one approach architecturally, this design was not prescriptive as to architectural style, clearly referencing known prototypes and suggesting possibilities within the modern idiom. This design encourages a diversity of scales, incomes, and architectural languages.