Join us for a tour of the new Nelson County Social Services Building led by PMA Architecture!

The modern building has been designed to echo the region's farming culture and rural community, creating an approachable and welcoming space for residents that responds to the Department's goal of “helping the citizens of Nelson County achieve a realistic and attainable level of self-sufficiency within a safe, healthy environment.” 

Earn 1 AIA Elective | PPE Required

Directions & Parking:

Nelson County Social Services Building (37 Tanbark Plaza, Lovingston, VA 22949)

From Highway 29, turn Left on Main Street (the Family Dollar will be on your left). Take the first left into Tanbark Plaza. The building is to your left, and you will see cars parked along the road. Find parking either along Tanbark Plaza or within the construction site. This area does tend to fill up quickly with parking, so it is recommended if you can’t find parking there, the Family Dollar across the street does have parking. We will meet at the front entrance of the building (facing Highway 29). 

Learning Objectives 

At the Completion of the tour, participants should be able to: 

1. Programming and analysis/welfare: Understand the functional needs of modern social services buildings and their programmatic relationships regarding confidentiality and security. 

2. Project management: Understand the process involved in site selection and design, space needs analysis to promote a more functional and efficient layout, as well as how the building responds to the rural architectural vocabulary and context of the County. 

3. Project planning and design: Evaluate site design strategies with regard to reconciling limitations set by existing conditions through recognizing the opportunities for design enhancement. 

4. Project development and documentation: Understand how REVIT and BIM modeling were used to coordinate specific architectural details between the design team and contractors, as well as mechanical/electrical components and the building structure. 

Project Description: The Nelson County Social Services Building reflects a sustained partnership between the County and the design team to create a functional, contextual, and safe space for employees and citizens. The current Social Services buildings are temporary-made-permanent trailers located between a strip mall and an auto service garage along the main highway. The trailers lack adequate office and service space and the safety features needed to protect physical and personal data. PMA began working with Nelson County in 2022, initially providing a space needs assessment that led to several site feasibility studies around the County before settling on a former grocery store-turned-restaurant near Main Street in Lovingston. The site was the most cost-effective and best located, even though this meant demolishing the current building on site. The new building will provide room for current and future growth, while creating a space equipped to safely serve Nelson County citizens with dignity and care. Throughout the project, the design team has worked diligently with the County, its stakeholders, and the citizenry to produce a solution that resonates with their locality. While the building appears, from a layout perspective, as a simple rectangular structure, its play of rooflines, materials, and massing reflects local agricultural and residential architecture. A modern building that echoes the region's farming culture and rural community, the Nelson County Social Services building is an approachable and welcoming space for residents that responds to the Department's goal of “helping the citizens of Nelson County achieve a realistic and attainable level of self-sufficiency within a safe, healthy environment.”