The 2013 VSAIA Prize for Design Research & Scholarship

The Virginia Society AIA, recognizing the importance of both theory and applied research in architecture, the importance of discourse in the architectural process, and the role that discourse plays in driving both, has created the VSAIA Prize for Design Research & Scholarship. The purpose of this prize is to encourage theoretical awareness, educational exchange, thought and research in architecture, both within academic institutions and within the offices of practicing architects who participate in these pursuits. The resulting exchange of design research and scholarship will encourage another method of collaboration between professors and practitioners.

Special thanks to our 2013 Sponsor MTFA Architecture.

The program announcement and entry form can be found here (PDF).

2012 Prize for Design Research & Scholarship
The jury unanimously selected “New Directions in Design Research: The Role of School Architecture in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity” as the 2012 Prize for Research and Scholarship. This paper was submitted by Robert Moje, AIA, of VMDO Architects in Charlottesville. The jury made these comments about the entry:

“Initially, the study title seemed naïve in linking architecture to the daunting societal problem of childhood obesity. However, the research presented a measured and well-documented series of facts and arguments corroborated by well-respected writers and thinkers. It contained insight into current education designs for the school physical environment that unwittingly reinforce unhealthy cultural habits and preferences. The project then focused on a specific design measures, large and small, to change the perceptions of and obstacles to healthy eating and cooking. The Jury was impressed that a series of discrete, often incremental, moves and ideas could potentially shift behavioral patterns and make a difference in our schools regarding children’s life choices. So often our design profession has taken a narrow rather than holist view of how buildings are experienced. Here, we are shown how food processed, presented, and integrated into the learning environment can make a daily difference to the child. In our discussion, it was this relevance and societal impact that lead us to select it as the winner of the Prize.”

2011  Prize for Design Research and Scholarship
The 2011 VSAIA Prize for Design Research and Scholarship jury, led by Jury Chair Thomas Leslie, awarded the prize to Edward R. Ford, AIA, Vincent and Eleanor Shea Professor at the University of Virginia, for the work presented in his book The Architectural Detail. 

2010 Prize for Design Research & Scholarship
The 2010 VSAIA Prize for Design Research and Scholarship was awarded at the VSAIA Annual Meeting at ArchEx November 4.  The  jury selected Eclipsis System: An Innovative Sun Control and Insulation Fenestration, submitted by a Virginia Tech team of Robert Dunay AIA, Joe Wheeler AIA, Robert Schubert, and Jonathan Grinham.  The paper described the research behind and development of a screen and shutter system used for both sun shade and climate control in Lumenhaus, Virginia Tech’s winning entry in the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe in Madrid.

2009 Prize for Design Research & Scholarship
Lisa M. Tucker, Ph.D., AIA, LEED AP was awarded the Prize for Design Research and Scholarship for her work studying the relationship of the AIA and the Architects’ Small House Service Bureau to the evolution of the single-family house design.

2008 Prize for Design Research & Scholarship
University of Virginia Associate Professor of Architecture Phoebe Crisman was awarded the 2008 Prize for Design Research & Scholarship for her paper titled  Working on the Elizabeth River. The paper describes an integrated analysis and design methodology that reveals spacial, environmental and temporal connections in this fragile and contaminated ecosystem.  The article features the development of the Learning Barge with its solar and wind energy systems, planted filtration systems and classroom.