Purpose of the AARB
The AARB is an advisory board appointed by the Governor to review the design or modifications of the State-owned buildings, property and works of art. The AARB recommends approval or disapproval to the Director of General Services, to whom the Governor has delegated this authority.
The Board consists of seven voting members as follows: the Director of the Department of Historic Resources, or his designee and six citizen members, appointed by the Governor. Of the citizen members, one shall be an architect who may be appointed from a list of two or more architects nominated by the governing board of the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects; one may be appointed from a list of two or more persons nominated by the governing board of the University of Virginia; one shall be a member of the board of trustees of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; and three shall be appointed from the Commonwealth at large, one of whom shall be a painter or sculptor.
Meeting Schedule
The AARB meets at 10am on the first Friday of each month of the year, unless the Friday or the following Monday is a state holiday, in which case the meeting will occur on the second Friday of the month. Meetings are held in Richmond, Virginia, or virtually in the case of extraordinary circumstances such as a pandemic.
Submittals
UVA projects must be reviewed by the Office of the Architect prior to submittal. Submittals will be made through the Office of the Architect and must be provided, at a minimum, 2 weeks and a day prior to the Board meeting. Submittals will include a completed Project Data Sheet and materials approve by the Office of the Architect.
For the Project Data Sheet and State submittal requirements, see: https://dgs.virginia.gov/dgs/directors-office/aarb/
For more information on how this process works for UVA projects, including Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) review, please download this document.
Presentations
Presentations are limited to 15 minutes. Presentations and participants will be coordinated with the Office of the Architect. Capital building projects typically come to AARB twice, once for preliminary approval and once for final approval. The Office of the Architect will assist to coordinate AARB review with UVA Board of Visitor reviews.
Generally, presentation content will include all information necessary to convey location, context and design intent, including:
- Site location with sufficient context
- Context photographs
- Precedent images
- Relevant master plans
- Relevant diagrams/analysis
- Site and landscape plans
- Building/site renderings/sketches
- Elevations
- Significant architectural details
- Materials palettes, building and site/landscape
The AARB does not review interiors. Only include a building plan if it assists in explaining the exterior design. At preliminary approval, refined materials palettes may not be known but it is helpful to convey intent. For final approval, be clear in addressing previous Board comments.