The jury for the AIA Virginia Prize for Design Research and Scholarship, chaired by Patrick Rand, FAIA, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Architecture at North Carolina State University, has voted to award the 2015 Prize to Virginia Tech professor Joe Wheeler, AIA, for Virginia Tech’s futureHAUS.

Virginia Tech futureHAUS
Virginia Tech futureHAUS

The jurors recognized that Wheeler’s submission was “exemplary in regards to innovation” and “the potential impact on housing could be substantial.”

The Prize will be awarded during the AIA Virginia Membership Meeting on Thursday, Nov. 6 in room E11b and Wheeler’s work will be presented that same day during Architecture Exchange East in session 152 at 2 p.m.

Additionally, the jury awarded Honorable Mention to Virginia Tech professor Mehdi Setareh, Ph.D., for the Structure and Form Analysis System (SAFAS). The jury praised the work as “an excellent teaching method for space frame design” which could “provide an excellent tool for structures course instructors.”

The Prize is intended 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 theoretical pursuits.

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