How Did Thomas Jefferson Plan The University Of Virginia

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Part One: Description of the Plan
Thomas Jefferson’s design of the University of Virginia combined his love for democracy, architecture, and knowledge. He designed the University of Virginia to help with the changing educational needs and the increasing population of the Virginia. His design for the University of Virginia was a U-shaped plan that consisted of a lawn in the middle that wad surrounded by many buildings and facilities. At the top of the plan was the Rotunda which sits at the head of the lawn. Completing the horses shoe shape around the lawn is ten pavilions- which were designed to be faculty housing with the living space upstairs and the classrooms downstairs. He wanted each one to be set aside for a specific academic subject and for the professor who taught that subject to live there for convenience. These buildings were then connected to colonnades of student rooms (housing facilities) and “hotels” where the students would dine. Jefferson called this plan the “academic village” because he wanted academics to be blended with every day life.
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Jefferson was mainly influenced by the drawings of Palladio and his buildings. This is seen clearly through the Rotunda, which was based on the Pantheon (a roman temple). He also echoed hospital designs from France and antique roman temples. Thomas Jefferson also sought out advice from William Thornton and Benjamin Henry Latrobe- both professional architects who helped him with the dome of the