Author: rgeorge

An exhibition featuring the 2021 AIA Virginia Prize competition entries is on view at Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory Art Center through Aug. 8, 2021.

Organized by architect Joe McCoy, AIA, the exhibition highlights the work of 33 students and their responses to the 2021 challenge which was inspired by the Equal Justice Initiative’s Community Remembrance Project. Visitors can also find out how to get involved in the  Alexandria Community Remembrance Project, a city-wide initiative dedicated to helping Alexandria understand its history.

A reception will be held on Friday, July 9 at 7 p.m.

About the AIA Virginia Prize
The AIA Virginia Prize is a design charrette that engages students at all the accredited schools of architecture in Virginia. The competition is intended to promote collaboration between the profession, students, and professors in Virginia.

About Torpedo Factory Art Center
Founded in 1974 in an old munitions plant, the Torpedo Factory Art Center is home to the nation’s largest collection of working-artists’ open studios under one roof. An Alexandria landmark for more than 40 years, it’s the highlight of the Potomac Riverfront, attracting approximately 500,000 visitors annually.

Do you have a colleague who deserves recognition? Is there a firm that consistently produces incredible work? Is there a building that has captured your heart? Consider nominating them for AIA Virginia’s Honors Awards program.  

The Honors program recognizes the best efforts of Virginians who — by profession or avocation — have made creating, preserving, and enhancing Virginia’s communities an important life commitment.

Important note: The AIA Virginia board, at its April 2021 board meeting, revised the date range for the Test of Time Award, expanding it to include work between 25-75 years old. As you’re considering your nominees, please keep this in mind!

Nominations

Nominations must be submitted online. Nominations should be submitted as a single PDF up to 20 pages (not including letters of support) and no larger than 15 MB.

Nominations for all AIA Virginia honors may be made by individual members, by chapter honors committees, by AIA Virginia committees, or by the Board of Directors itself.

Current AIA Virginia Board members and Honors Committee members are not eligible for any award. Members of the Honors Committee may not be used as a reference or adviser or be solicited by the candidate or the candidate’s advisor.

The deadline is Thursday, July 1, 2021 at 5 p.m.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria and submission requirements vary by award. Click on the awards listed below for additional details and to review past recipients.

Award Categories

The William C. Noland Medal, as the highest award bestowed on a member architect, is intended to honor a distinguished body of accomplishments, sustained over time, that spans a broad spectrum of the profession and that transcends the scope of normal professional activities. Only one medal may be bestowed each year.

The Architecture Medal for Virginia Service is AIA Virginia’s most prestigious public award, honoring an individual or organization that has made an unusually significant contribution to Virginia’s built environment or to the public’s understanding and awareness of the built environment. Only one medal may be bestowed each year but may be given simultaneously to more than one person.

The T. David Fitz-Gibbon Virginia Architecture Firm Award, as the highest honor bestowed by AIA Virginia to a Virginia-based architecture firm, recognizes a firm that has consistently produced distinguished architecture for at least ten years.

The Virginia Emerging Professional Award recognizes the accomplishments of an emerging leader in Virginia for their contributions to the profession in any of the following: design, research, education, service as a “citizen architect,” service to the profession, service to the community, or initiatives to advance social justice, equity, diversity, or inclusion.

The Award for Distinguished Achievement recognizes either a singular achievement by an architect or the work of an entire career in any of the following: design, practice, education, service as a “citizen architect,” service to the profession, or initiatives to advance social justice, equity, diversity, or inclusion.

Honorary Membership is bestowed upon a person of esteemed character who is not eligible for membership in the AIA Virginia but who has rendered distinguished and exemplary service, over a sustained period of time, to architecture and the built environment within the domain of AIA Virginia.

AIA Virginia Honors may be bestowed on non-member individuals or organizations that have inspired, influenced, or complemented the architecture profession in Virginia through practice of an allied profession, research, education, planning, legislation, architectural writing, the arts, or crafts. An individual who has previously been elected an Honorary Member of AIA Virginia is ineligible to receive AIA Virginia Honors.

The Test of Time Award recognizes architectural design of enduring significance. The structure should be in Virginia and must be no less than 25 years old. Building use may change over time if the overall design is cherished as a significant contribution to the community and the built environment.

AIA Virginia’s Awards for Excellence in Architecture recognize outstanding design, built and unbuilt, from the past seven years. Also known as the Design Awards, the program is juried by a team of esteemed practitioners.

Each entry will be judged on how successful the project is in meeting its individual requirements. Consideration is given to aesthetics, social impact, innovation, context, performance, and stewardship of the natural environment — with particular emphasis on the Framework for Design Excellence.

Each entry must include a completed Framework for Design Excellence Project Information Form as page one of its submission. It is understood that every project is different and may not respond to each measure within the Framework. The jury will consider each design holistically and within context.

No specific number of awards is set, and the program is open to all categories of building as well as interiors projects. The location of projects is not restricted, but any built works submitted for consideration must have been completed on or after Jan. 1, 2014. Enter online.

In 2021, we’ve launched new and revised awards categories — including a small projects award and extended use awards. To learn more about these changes, watch the recording of an overview that we offered on May 14 at 4 p.m.

Check out the complete descriptions of each of the awards categories, and review the regulations, eligibility requirements, and frequently asked questions for more information.

Awards Categories include:

• Architecture;
• Contextual Design;
• Extended Use with the following sub-categories:
  • Historic Preservation
  • Adaptive or Continued Use
  • Continued Use of Owner-Occupied Single-Family House Following Renovation
• Interiors;
• Residential; and
• Small Projects with the following sub-categories:
  • Up to $150K in construction cost
  • Up to $500K in construction cost
  • Under 5,000 square feet (Updated from 2,500)

Entries are due by 5 p.m. on June 24, 2021. Note: You should be prepared to submit your concealed ID and project submission upon entry.

Entry fees

AIA Virginia Members:
$190 for the first project
$160 for each additional project
The Small Projects Category has a reduced entry fee of $100 for each entry
Note: The entrant must be a member of AIA Virginia to be eligible to receive the member discount. The submitting AIA Virginia member must be a contributor to the design team.

Non-members of the AIAVA (must have an office located in Virginia):
$245 for the first project
$220 for each additional project
The Small Projects Category has a reduced entry fee of $200 for each entry

Not an AIA Virginia member? Apply for unassigned membership.

About the Framework for Design Excellence

Developed by members of the AIA, the Framework for Design Excellence, represents the defining principles of good design in the 21st century. It’s intended to be accessible and relevant for every architect, every client, and every project — regardless of size, typology, or aspiration.

The 10 measures that make up the Framework are intended to inspire progress toward a zero-carbon, equitable, resilient, and healthy built environment. They represent standards of excellence as defined by members of the AIA. These measures align with the AIA’s core values which are collectively defined by members across the country.

The completed Framework for Design Excellence Project Information Form is required and shall be page 1 of each submission.

We recognize every project is different and may not respond to every measure within the Framework. The jury will consider the design holistically and within context.

Data may not be available for some metrics on the form, or the client may prefer to keep certain metrics confidential. If this is the case, space is provided on the form to provide an explanation.

Entrants are encouraged to call out extraordinary responses to specific measures in the remaining 6 pages of their submission as well.