And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and
me,
Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile, …

-T.S. Eliot


The term ‘lunch’ is an informal derivation of the word luncheon. The colloquialism of the term coupled with some “talk of you and me” speaks to the core intention of this collection. lunch is inspired by chance; by chance discussions that grow from a meal in a shared setting and by chance discussions that alter or challenge views of the space and place we inhabit. lunch provides for the meeting of diverse voices in common place tended by a casual atmosphere. To lunch suggests an escape from the day’s work; perhaps even a break.

Intrepid thoughts, influential experiments, and accomplished works race through our place of practice. How often is such work limited by insular conversation and isolated presentation? As a reaction to these limits, we present lunch. The works collected in lunch mix a range of studies, conversations, drawings, statements, and stories that together aspire to reflect an experience of the University of Virginia School of Architecture. The concept of lunch is a construction of culture and of time. Here in the shadow of Jefferson’s convictions where dishes often lie on a terraced lawn, we present lunch hoping its contents bring far away sites and distinct lines of inspiration to a common table.

Kevin Bell MArch ’06
Matthew Ibarra MArch ’06
Ryan Moody MArch/MLA ’07

Charlottesville, Virginia May 21, 2006