Burnett & Williams

Peter Burnett Shares Expertise at Virginia’s Historic Courthouses Symposium

Peter Burnett Shares Expertise at Virginia’s Historic Courthouses Symposium

Loudon County historic courthouse

Burnett & Williams Founding Partner, Peter Burnett, gave a well-received presentation last Friday for Preservation Virginia’s “Historic Courthouses Symposium” in Staunton.  Peter shared his experiences guiding the expansion of Loudoun County’s historic courthouse complex in Leesburg in the late 1990’s.  That $30 million project was critically acclaimed for creating a state of the art facility in one of the nation’s fastest growing counties while fully “integrating, respecting, and preserving its predecessor historic court buildings.”  For his leadership in the new court planning process, Peter was named Local Bar Leader of the Year by the Virginia State Bar in 1998.

Loudon County Courthouse in Leesburg Virginia

Peter was joined at the symposium by several prominent architects, planning specialists and historians, including Jim Beight and David Puckett who have collaborated on a number of historic Virginia courthouse projects, Kathleen and William Frazier of Frazier Associates in Staunton, Bryan Clark Green of Commonwealth Architects, Don Hardenbergh of Court Works, author John O. Peters, and University of Virginia architectural historian Richard Guy Wilson.  All agreed that the rich architectural heritage of Virginia’s historic courthouses is something critical to the communities they serve, and that finding ways to keep the traditional courts connected to the modern court system as it expands adds to the strength and integrity of the system.

To learn more about Preservation Virginia’s work, or to get involved visit: www.preservationvirginia.org