The 2011 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.

The 2011 prize is open for submissions.  The program announcement and entry form can be found here (PDF).

The 2010 VSAIA Prize for Design Research and Scholarship jury, led by Jury Chair Dennis Andrejko, FAIA, 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.  The Jury (other members included Angela Brooks AIA, Dan Williams FAIA and Rafael Longoria) commented:

This is a very strong piece and research investigation.  We loved what it has done and how it sets the foundation for further work.  The project is an interesting idea that has been researched, tested, and thoroughly documented.  It is a modern interpretation based on a time-honored cultural system of ventilation walls.  This could go into the public realm and be used by architects to further the practice of architecture, graphics and public presentation.  We liked the mixing of technology, aesthetics, and cultural/societal grounding, with the skin becoming both a design driver and an energy system to help power the building.  This is a growing and necessary part of architecture that we would like to see investigated even further.

The 2010 VSAIA Prize for Design Research and Scholarship was awarded at the VSAIA Annual Meeting at ArchEx November 4.

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.