Birthday Postcard Design Contest

Here’s your chance to design the next AIA Virginia member birthday postcard! AIA Virginia will feature your design on the front of the birthday postcards sent to all members since 2018.

Enter your design(s) for a chance to win a free registration to AIA Virginia’s 2025 annual conference, Architecture Exchange East.

Entries are welcome from AIA Virginia members, Virginia architecture program students, or other architecture firm employees.

Specifications:
Size: 4 inches tall by 6 inches wide
File type: high-resolution .jpg files
all color palettes welcome!

Entries are due by June 30, 2025.

Enter your design>>

Questions??? Email Cathy Guske, cguske@aiava.org

past designs/examples:

The Hermitage Museum Garden Loos

The Hermitage (c1908) grounds boast of breathtaking vistas out to the expanses of the Lafayette River and Elizabeth River. The Hermitage is a bucolic experience only minutes from downtown and home to a nationally recognized art collection spanning 5,000 years, changing indoor and outdoor exhibitions. Originally a home, the architecture including the associated out-buildings are stunning examples of the American Arts & Crafts movement. The home’s historic carriage house is home to the Visual Arts Studio.

In addition to providing an exceptional context for indoor and outdoor art installations, The Hermitage is heavily sought for weddings and special events including several outdoor festivities and con­certs, attracting sizable crowds. What do crowds require? Toilets!

The facility’s needs of the crowds could not be accommodated in the home architecturally, func­tionally or in a code compliant manner. Even as a single out-building proximate to the events, the provision for publicly accessible restrooms with interior circulation, appropriate lavatory and mirror space required a building footprint that would easily overpower the gentle scale and form of the home and gardens. 

The solution is a contextual response to the porta-potty. Creating small code compliant gender inclusive / single use stalls and bundling them to a scale that extends the graceful scale of the grounds. Set in the context of the Hermitage’s renowned English gardens and seamless with the natural woodlands, the new facility was named ‘The Garden Loos.’  The wooded site is also an educational wetland, which presented the design challenges of a major flood zone. The design incorporated flood proof construction for the first three feet above finish floor and flood gates at the  two flanking exterior walls, so the building can withstand a major flooding event.

Like a geode, the exterior responds to the context and the interior is full of surprises and delight. A polished stainless-steel wall reflects the garden to those who walk by and is a mirror for guests to enjoy the opportunity for selfies and personal expression, not to mention a bride adjusting her veil!  The integration of the Loos into the garden included preserving a brick and ironwork garden wall, a striking feature of the Loos’s interior architecture, where splashes of garden colors create a simple, artistic and memorable interior to each restroom.

The Hermitage Museum Garden Loos
Firm: Hanbury
Project Team: Jane Cady Rathbone, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C and Jeffrey G. Butts, Jr., Assoc. AIA

2025 General Assembly Bills: Monitoring

AIA Virginia is watching bills placed in this category. Often, we are watching bills because they are of interest and we want to remain informed. When this is the case, it is often another organization taking the lead due to its specific expertise and political relationships. If amendments are introduced that make a bill in this category detrimental to our profession, then it is moved to the SUPPORT or OPPOSE list and we engage. There are some bills that AIA Virginia does not take a position on. An example of this would be bills that define “small business”. Because of the composition of our membership, we would not want to take action that would hurt any of our members.

If you have any questions, please contact Paul Battaglia, AIA at pbattaglia@aiava.org

HB 1561 – Classification of land and improvements for tax purposes; localities.

Status: Failed

HB 1570 – Virginia Public Procurement Act; project labor agreements.

Status: Failed

HB 1579 – License taxes; local gas road improvement and Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority tax; sunset.

Status: In Committee

HB 1580 – Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Fund; Tobacco Region Revolving Fund; eligible localities; Planning District 4.

Status: Failed

HB 1616 – Offshore Wind Industry Workforce Program and Fund; established, report, sunset.

Status: Passed House

HB 1658 – Board of Housing and Community Development; USBC; stakeholder group to evaluate temperature regulation.

Status: Failed

HB 1708 – Access to Housing Task Force; report.

Status: Failed

HB 1743 – License taxes; deduction for out-of-state receipts, effective date, report.

Status: In Committee

HB 1755 – Sales and use tax on services and digital personal property.

Status: Failed

HB 1789 – Procurement; cancellation of bids.

Status: Failed

HB 1822 – Electric utilities; construction of certain electrical transmission lines, advanced conductors.

Status: In Committee

HB 1835 – Geologists; regulation, licensure, penalty.

Status: In Committee

HB 1866 – Corporate income tax; sourcing of sales other than sales of tangible personal property.

Status: Failed

Notes

2025 monitor: would affect various member firms variously; “market-based sourcing” = the destination of the service revenue, rather than where the revenue was earned, is the relevant location, as regards taxation

HB 1963 – Virginia Military Community Infrastructure Grant Program; guidance and criteria for awarding grants.

Status: Passed House

HB 2000 – Dam Safety Act; powers and duties of DCR, rights and requirements of dam owners, civil penalty.

Status: Passed House

Notes

2025 monitor: providing multiple technical amendments to improve bill

HB 2024 – Virginia Public Procurement Act; environmental protection and product safety standards.

Status: Passed House

Notes

2025 monitor: generally support approach; intended to apply to specific issue/manufacturer

HB 2046 – High-risk artificial intelligence; development, deployment, and use by public bodies, report.

Status: In Committee

Notes

2025 monitor: need to exclude design services? private consultants incorporated into public body through contract

HB 2050 – Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program; established.

Status: In Committee

HB 2059 – Virginia’s Great Outdoors Act; land preservation distributions and appropriations.

Status: Failed

HB 2094 – High-risk artificial intelligence; development, deployment, and use, civil penalties.

Status: In Committee

Notes

2025 monitor: need to exclude design services?

HB 2150 – Virginia Public Procurement Act; contract terms inconsistent with Virginia law.

Status: In Committee

Notes

2025 monitor: does not apply to pro services as written, but establishes good/useful precedent

HB 2212 – Stormwater management regulations; localities outside Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Status: Failed

HB 2331 – Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas; acceptance of signed & sealed plan in lieu of local plan review.

Status: Failed

Notes

2025 monitor: opposed by others; asking for substitute language as geologists and soil scientists are not trained, educated, and tested to prepare site plans; might allow bypass of municipal review, which is a basic requirement for minimum CBPA code compliance; await substitute offered to allay concerns

HB 2426 – Small renewable energy projects; amends definition, permit by rule.

Status: In Committee

HB 2503 – Virginia coordinate systems; federal updates.

Status: Passed House

Notes

2025 monitor: providing clarifications to improve bill

HB 2533 – Counties, cities, and towns; comprehensive plan may include use of accessory dwelling units.

Status: In Committee

HB 2537 – Energy storage requirements; Department of Energy, et al., to develop model ordinances, reports.

Status: In Committee

Notes

2025 monitor: patrick can have PEs (EE and FPE) included in workgroup

HB 2570 – Uniform Statewide Building Code; installation of natural gas leak detectors in residential building.

Status: Failed

HB 2572 – Direct experience recruitment policy; DHRM to develop a statewide policy.

Status: Incorporated

HB 2588 – Virginia Public Procurement Act; discrimination prohibited, military spouse-owned businesses.

Status: Failed

HB 2641 – Statewide housing targets; requires localities to increase their total housing stock.

Status: In Committee

HB 2676 – Electric utilities; renewable energy definition and facilities.

Status: Failed

HB 2682 – Building permit and certificate of occupancy processes; work group to identify certain changes.

Status: Failed

HB 2693 – Electric utilities; regulation, development of renewable energy facilities.

Status: Failed

HB 2711 – Water & wastewater utilities; eligible infrastructure replacement and enhancement.

Status: Passed House

HB 2741 – Va. Public Procurement Act; local public bodies to issue an invitation to bid for small purchases.

Status: Failed

Notes

2025 monitor: pro services; lines 67ff, 73ff

HB 2781 – Affordable housing; counties with executive form of government.

Status: Passed House

SB 757 – Trespass with an unmanned aircraft system; contracted defense facility, penalty.

Status: In House

SB 769 – Consumer Data Protection Act; controller privacy notice; cookies; consumer consent.

Status: Failed

SB 788 – Workers’ compensation; injuries caused by repetitive and sustained physical stressors.

Status: Failed

SB 803 – Workers’ compensation; injuries caused by repetitive and sustained physical stressors.

Status: Incorporated

SB 826 – Predetermination for licensing eligibility; prior convictions.

Status: In Committee

SB 839 – Zoning; by-right multifamily development in areas zoned for commercial use.

Status: Failed

SB 857 – Dam Safety Act; powers and duties of DCR, rights and requirements of dam owners, etc.

Status: In Committee

Notes

2025 monitor: providing multiple technical amendments to improve bill

SB 962 – Virginia Public Procurement Act; competitive sealed bidding.

Status: In Committee

Notes

2025 monitor: ensure bill continues to apply to construction/sealed build projects, and excludes professional services

SB 1173 – Virginia coordinate systems; updates several references in Code.

Status: In Committee

Notes

2025 monitor: providing clarifications to improve bill

SB 1180 – Workforce Development and Advancement, Department of; powers and duties.

Status: Failed

SB 1214 – High-risk artificial intelligence; development, deployment, and use by public bodies, report.

Status: Passed Senate

SB 1218 – Labor and employment; covenants not to compete prohibited, low-wage employees, exceptions, civil pen

Status: In Subcommittee

SB 1299 – Workers’ compensation; compensation to dependents or beneficiaries of an employee killed.

Status: In Committee

SB 1342 – Low income households; Dept. of Energy to identify barriers to reducing energy-related costs.

Status: In Committee

SB 1434 – Solar photovoltaic project; decisions of localities, regional energy plans.

Status: Incorporated

SB 1456 – Income tax, corporate; sourcing of sales other than sales of tangible personal property.

Status: Failed

Notes

2025 monitor: would affect various member firms variously; “market-based sourcing” = the destination of the service revenue, rather than where the revenue was earned, is the relevant location, as regards taxation

SB 1477 – Disaster Assistance Fund; established.

Status: Failed

SB 1491 – School crossing zones; institutions of higher education.

Status: Passed Senate

SJ 260 – Transportation infrastructure; JLARC to study Department of Transportation’s policies and funding.

Status: Failed

Counts: HB: 37 HJ: 0 SB: 18 SJ: 1

2024 By the Numbers

Thanks to our volunteer leaders and collaborators, here’s what we accomplished in 2024.

2,582 members of AIA Virginia (2.3% increase over 2023)

98 new architecture graduates joined for free

26 associates became licensed architects

204 attendees at the Virginia Design Forum XVI (30 year anniversary!)

391 attendees at our annual convention (Architecture Exchange East)

86 professional development courses offered to our members

3,707 AIA LUs credited to our members

6 firm-size and career-stage roundtables met twice

5 member townhalls – one in each local chapter area of the Commonwealth

15+ visits with legislators on Capitol Hill

8 members appointed by the governor to serve on boards and committees

Met with ALL of the Virginia delegates and senators at caucuses

6 individuals or firms honored with AIA Virginia Honors

19 firms honored with Awards for Excellence in Architecture (Design Awards)

5 programs of architecture included in the AIA Virginia Student Prize competition (now open to non NAAB-accredited programs)

4 members elevated to Fellowship

25 Associate members supported on the path to licensure with discounted Amber Book subscriptions

15 members and students participated in the 15th annual Emerging Leaders in Architecture leadership development program

1 foundation launched (AIA Virginia Foundation) to serve our members and industry

Want to get involved in the work of AIA Virginia? email us at info@aiava.org

2025 ArchEx Sponsorships

Updates from the Roundtables

The Firm Size and Career Stage roundtables met virtually last month. Read about what was discussed and plan to join us in person for the next meeting of the roundtables at ArchEx, Nov. 6-8 in Richmond.

Thank you to our Roundtable Chairs for their dedication and service to these discussions.

Large Firm Roundtable – Charles Piper, AIA
Mid-Size Firm Roundtable – Andrew McKinley, AIA
Small Firm Roundtable – Maggie Schubert, AIA
Emerging Professional Roundtable – Carrie Parker, AIA
Mid-Career Roundtable – Shawn Mulligan, AIA
Late-Career Roundtable – Mitch Rowland, AIA

Firm Size Roundtable notes>>

Career Stage Roundtable notes>>

Architecture Exchange East (ArchEx) 2024: Save the Dates + NEW Location

Please save the dates for AIA Virginia’s annual Architecture Exchange East that will take place at the Richmond Marriott in Richmond, VA this November 6-8, 2024!

Architecture Exchange East (ArchEx) is AIA Virginia’s annual signature educational event which brings together architects and designers to deliver a highly-curated program of educational sessions. The event features an exhibit hall showcasing the latest products and services from vendors, suppliers, and consultants. Attendees can earn all or most of the 18 required continuing education credits over the course of the three-day program. It also serves as the largest annual networking event for Virginia-based architects. The event also allows architects and educators to share their research and case studies.

Registration will open after Labor Day 2024 and the hotel room block will be available after registration opens.

Join Us and Become a Sponsor

2024 Tabletop & Networking OPPORTUNITIES
Click to view Sponsorship Options
 
Secure your tabletop and networking package early! Space is limited to 38 Sponsors.

Live engagement is more important than ever. 
ArchEx sponsors will have an unparalleled opportunity to connect with Virginia architects through personal engagement during this 2-day event.  Our refreshing, new approach provides the ability to problem solve side-by-side with architects, immersing your sales team in ongoing facilitated workshop discussions, breakout sessions, tours, group dining, social gatherings, and multiple celebrations. 
This is an opportunity to TRULY engage! Need more information? Contact: Jody Cranford, Sponsorship and Advertising Consultant, jcranford@aiava.org

Secure your ArchEx 2024 Sponsorship>>