VSAIA

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 the Virginia Society AIA has added five categories: General Design, Historic Preservation, Interior Design, Contextual Designor the 2013 Awards for Excellence in Architecture.  (All projects must have been completed or commissioned as of 2008. See the more detailed description of each category 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.

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 2013 Awards Program:

Entries are due June 28.

Project submissions are due electronically July 26.

The fee schedule for the 2013 awards program is:

Virginia Society AIA Members—$190 for the first project and $160 for each additional project

Not a Virginia Society AIA Member, but with an office in Virginia—$245 for the first project and $215 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.

Architecture

Designers may submit projects of all types (including residential) for consideration in the Architecture 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.

The Future of the Past, by Steven W. Semes

How should contemporary additions to historic structures or new buildings in historic districts relate to the existing character of the neighborhood? Noted expert and author Steven W. Semes discusses the challenges faced by review boards, architects and designers, and the difficulties inherent in following sometimes confusing historic standards and guidelines  on March 5^th, 5:30-7 pm,  at the Virginia Center for Architecture,  2501 Monument Ave.

Increasing public concern has arisen over new buildings and additions to old buildings that are conspicuously in contrast with their surroundings. Such projects are often justified by an interpretation of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation (the de facto national preservation policy written and administered by the National Park Service) that places greater weight on “differentiation” than on “compatibility”—the two requirements for new construction in historic settings specified in the Standards. This interpretation has led architects and historic district commissions to adopt contrasting styles of architecture to satisfy the “differentiation” requirement, though the Standards do not mandate any stylistic approach. In many instances, architects designing in traditional styles have encountered resistance from preservation authorities when proposing stylistically sympathetic designs in historic settings.

In his book, The Future of the Past: A Conservation Ethic for Architecture, Urban Design and Historic Preservation (W. W. Norton & Co., 2009), Semes  reflects on the emergence of new traditional design practice among contemporary architects and urban designers and the issues this raises in the preservation field. He makes a persuasive case that context matters and that new buildings and additions to old buildings should be visually harmonious with their neighbors.

A practicing architect for more than 30 years, Semes has designed a variety of projects for preservation and new construction throughout the United States. In addition to many articles, Semes is also the author of The Architecture of the Classical Interior (2004) and a contributor to “The Elements of Classical Architecture” (2001), also published by W. W. Norton & Co. An Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, Semes  was Academic Director of the Notre Dame Rome Studies Program From 2008 to 2011.  He is a fellow emeritus of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (ICA&CA) and was educated at the University of Virginia and Columbia University. He is also the recipient of the 2010 Clem Labine Award for contributions to a humane built environment.

Semes’s presentation is free and open to the public.  A reception and book signing will follow.   Because space is limited, reservations are required.   Please contact Andy Liguori, at aliguori@aiava.org or (804) 644-3041, extension 100 for reservations. Sponsored by Old House Authority and Fan District Association.