Join the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects, the Virginia Center for Architecture, and Inform magazine in a celebration of the very best work from designers working from Virginia.
This year for the first time, to recognize both the importance of context in building design and the important distinction of residential design as a building type, the Virginia Society AIA has added two new categories—Contextual Design and Residential Design—to the previous three: General Design, Historic Preservation, and Interior Design to the 2012 Awards for Excellence in Architecture presented by IMAGINiT Technologies. (See the more detailed description of each below.) Entrants will identify the category for which a project is submitted in the registration documentation. Projects may be submitted in multiple categories with a separate PDF submission and fee payment for each category. Submissions are to be in PDF format and include one page of written description and five pages of illustration. Illustration pages may contain multiple images—plans, sections, axonometrics, details, renderings, and photographs with credits—and captions at the submitters discretion.
The 2012 VSAIA Awards for Excellence presented by IMAGINiT Technologies are sponsored by IMAGINiT Technologies, a Rand Worldwide Company, SKANSKA USA, Haynes Whaley Associates, Inc. and Vanderweil Engineers, LLP.
Awards certificates are presented each November at Architecture Exchange East, the Virginia Society’s annual conference. They are also honored during the Visions for Architecture gala, in Inform Magazine, and serve as the subject of an annual exhibition at the Virginia Center for Architecture.
All entries must be the work of licensed architects who have an office in Virginia OR are members (including associate members) of the Virginia Society of the AIA.
The timeline schedule for the 2012 awards program:
Entries are due July 13.
Project submissions are due electronically July 27.
The fee schedule for the 2012 awards program is:
Virginia Society AIA Members—$175 for the first project and $150 for each additional project
Not a Virginia Society AIA Member, but with an office in Virginia—$225 for the first project and $195 for each additional project
Virginia Society AIA Associate Members—$80 for all projects
Contextual Design
Buildings do not exist in isolation. The Award for Contextual Design recognizes outstanding architecture that perceptibly reflects the history, culture, and physical environment of the place in which it stands and that, in turn, contributes to the function, beauty, and meaning of its larger context. Evaluation criteria include:
- Does the design contribute to the fabric of the surrounding physical context through tangible qualities such as scale, form, materials, and architectural vocabulary?
- Does the design demonstrate an understanding of the history and culture of the place and embrace traditions relevant to its context?
- Does the design creatively embody the identity or mission of the client?
Requirements for submission should include a description of the context and how this context is reflected in the design, as well as images (photographs or drawings; at least two) that distinctly reveal the surrounding context of the project.
Residential Design
Aesthetic appeal and functionality are two long-established criteria for home design. More frequently, especially in the last several years, families have also been looking for affordability and resource efficiency. The jury will focus on the issues of:
- Design that suits the needs of the home owner or resident, regardless of any particular style, and is easily maintained, filled with adequate natural light and fresh air, energy and water efficient, and is universally accessible.
- Community building, in that the residence is well-sited with respect to views and amenities such as transit, shopping, recreation, and congregation.
Submissions should include a description of the sustainability and community-building programmatic aspects of the residence, interior and exterior photographs, plans, and/or drawings, and a site plan.
General Design
Designers may submit projects of all types (including residential) for consideration in the General Design category. In their deliberations, the jury will consider aesthetics, adherence to the client program, proven and projected building performance, and concept development. As with all categories, entrants will submit a project description and five pages of illustration, each of which may contain plans, sections, renderings, photographs, and captions, as the entrant deems suitable to describe the outstanding elements of the project.
Historic Preservation
The Historic Preservation category focuses specifically on excellence in strategies, tactics, and technologies that advance the art, craft, and science of preserving historically significant buildings and sites. The jury will also take into consideration adherence to local, state, and national criteria for historic preservation.
Interior Design
Interior Design projects of distinction will evince mastery of composition, functionality, material and color palettes, and well-integrated adherence to the highest levels of accessibility, health and safety, environmental, and occupant-comfort considerations, standards, and regulations. Submissions will highlight accommodation of project goals, including the client’s specific programmatic requirements, in a single page of text supplemented with five pages of illustrations in PDF format.
The Juries
The juries for each of the five categories comprise architects, educators, and related professionals working outside the Middle Atlantic region who are well-recognized for their work pertaining to their particular categories. Jury chairs will be highlighted in an upcoming Design Awards announcement.
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