Virginia Design Forum XVII: Against the Grain
2026-05-01 13:00 - 2026-05-02 16:30 (America/New_York) | Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg, 24061, United States
Registration is now open for Design Forum XVII!
Please join us for the upcoming Design Forum XVII on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. You will hear from Marlon Blackwell, FAIA (Marlon Blackwell Architects), Patricia Gruits, AIA, LEED AP (MASS Design), Michael Reynolds (Earthship Biotecture), and Ronald Rael (Rael San Fratello).

Purchase Tickets Here

Earn 7.5 AIA LU | Elective
Schedule
FRIDAY
1:00 p.m. Meet and Greet, Registration Opens
2:00 p.m. Virginia Tech Architecture School Studio Walk
4:00 p.m. Welcome and Moderator Remarks | Ronald Rael
4:40 p.m. Speaker 1: Marlon Blackwell, FAIA
6:00 p.m. Reception
7:30 p.m. Reception ends (attendees out on your own)
SATURDAY
8:30 a.m. Check-in and Light Breakfast
9:10 a.m. Speaker 2: Patricia Gruits, AIA
10:30 a.m. Speaker 3: Ronald Rael
11:50 a.m. Lunch & Networking
1:30 p.m. Speaker 4: Michael Reynolds
3:00 p.m. Moderator Remarks and Speaker Panel
3:45 p.m. Closing Remarks
4:00 p.m. Tour of the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech
Location
Attendees can join us at the award-winning Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Tickets
AIA Member/VANOMA Member: $265
Assoc. AIA Member: $185
Non-member: $318
Student: $63

Purchase Tickets Here

Lodging
We have a room block at The Inn at Virginia Tech – please reserve your room HERE. The room block will be open until April 8, 2026.
Do you want to be a 2026 Design Forum Sponsor? Secure your sponsorship HERE and/or contact Jody Cranford.

2026 Fellows Fête
2026-05-02 18:00 - 21:00 | The Inn at Virginia Tech, 901 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg, 24061, United States
Saturday, May 2, 2026
6 – 9 p.m.
BLACK TIE
The Inn at Virginia Tech
Purchase Tickets>>
The Fellows Fête is open to all Fellows in The Region of The Virginia’s
ticket sales close April 17, 2026.
Book your hotel room for May 2nd
Reservation Link>>
Deadline: April 9, 2026
If you are also attending the Design Forum XVIII and need to extend your hotel for April 30 and May 1, please call The Inn at Virginia Tech’s reservation desk at (540) 231-8000 for help in completing your reservation for both events.
Thank you to our sponsors
if you would like to sponsor the Fête, email Cathy Guske

Member Services Advisory Council
2026-05-06 09:30 - 10:30, 2026-06-17 09:30 - 10:30, 2026-07-15 09:30 - 10:30, 2026-08-19 09:30 - 10:30 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
The Council is responsible for the delivery of exceptional services to the membership, which in return, influences membership growth. Goals and strategic planning are executed to increase diversity and inclusion within the profession, engage state universities, and ensure that the AIA Virginia membership pipeline is consistently being nurtured.
For information on this advisory council or any other council or committee, contact Cathy Guske or email info@aiava.org

Historic Tour: Tangier Island History and Vernacular Architecture Tour
2026-05-09 10:00 - 15:45 | Tangier Island, 16070 Main Ridge Rd., Tangier, VA, 23440
Visit the island of Tangier, Virginia with AIA Virginia’s Historic Resources Committee to learn about the community’s long history and insights about its built environment. Lincoln Lewis, Climate Equity Doctoral Fellow with the University of Virginia’s Equity Center where he works on the Coastlines and People (CoPe) project for Virginia’s Eastern Shore, will be leading the tour. As part of HALS, he documented the Tangier Island Watermen Working Landscape.
Tangier is a unique island community that is experiencing dynamic environmental change in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. Storms, erosion, and subsidence have reduced the low-lying island’s area by more than two-thirds since 1850. The community of about 300 residents have found ways to prosper and have adapted their own form of vernacular architecture to suit the environment. Participants of the day trip will ride a round-trip ferry to the island from either Reedville (Virginia), Onancock (Virginia), or Crisfield (Maryland). While coming into Mail Boat Harbor participants will see the vernacular crab houses and then have an opportunity to eat lunch at a local restaurant. A 30-minute golf cart tour will provide an overview of the island and participants will see the historic Swain Memorial Methodist Church along with other vernacular buildings. Free time will be available for participants to visit the Tangier Island Museum and Interpretive Cultural Center along with other sites.
1.5 AIA LU | HSW
AIA Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
Students: FREE
Register Here>>
*Registration closes on May 8.
Schedule:
10:00 – Depart from Ferries (Reedville, VA, Onancock, VA)
11:30 – Arrive at Tangier’s Thomas main dock
11:35 – 12:05pm Golfcart Tour (30-minute)
12:10 – 1:10 Lunch (1-hour)
1:10-1:30 Walk together to Swain Memorial Methodist Church, continue walking together to the museum (meet the Mayor)
1:30-2:15 Free time (talk more with Mayor, go into museum [$3 entry], visit gift shops, or wander around; museum is about 7 minutes walk back to docks)
2:15 – Depart Tangier for Reedville
(departure is 3:30 for Onancock, VA)
Costs

AIA Virginia tour fee of $15 (AIA member) or $30 (non-member)
Ferry roundtrip $35 (each person needs to confirm and pay the ferry company themselves depending on which port they are traveling from)
Golf cart 30-minute tour $10 (each person pays the tour provider individually, CASH only)
Lunch will be ordered and paid individually at Muddy Toes Café. Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578242951576#

Ferry Links
(MAKE YOUR RESERVATION IN ADVANCE. FERRIES CAN SELL OUT)
Reedville, VA: https://tangiercruise.com/

Departs Reedville: 10:00am
Departs Tangier: 2:15pm

Onancock, VA: https://www.tangierferry.com/

Departs Onancock: 10:00am
Departs Tangier for Onancock: 3:30pm

*Please note – The event is contingent on weather and you are required to stay in contact with the ferry to understand if the ferry might be canceled.

Advocacy Advisory Council
2026-05-12 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-06-09 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-07-14 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-08-11 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-09-08 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
The Advocacy Advisory Council is responsible for reviewing, advising, and coordinating activity in the broad area of government affairs, whether on legislative, regulatory, code, or other issues at the state level.
For information on this advisory council or any other council or committee, contact Paul Battaglia, AIA or email info@aiava.org

PAC Board of Trustees
2026-05-19 14:30 - 15:30, 2026-07-21 14:30 - 15:30 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
To stimulate persons engaged in the practice of architecture, their employees and others with similar interests to take a more active and effective role in governmental affairs. To solicit and receive from persons engaged in the practice of architecture, their employees and others with similar interests contributions into a fund to be used to assist candidates for public office who support the profession of architecture.
For information on this Board of Trustees or any other advisory council or committee, contact Paul Battaglia, AIA or email info@aiava.org

J.E.D.I. Committee Meeting
2026-05-21 09:00 - 10:00, 2026-06-18 09:00 - 10:00, 2026-07-16 09:00 - 10:00, 2026-08-20 09:00 - 10:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
The AIA Virginia Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (J.E.D.I.) Committee promotes diversity within the profession and the association by developing implementable strategies to help serve and support more diverse and inclusive audiences.
See our recommended EDI Resources here>>
For more information or to serve on this or any other AIA Virginia committee, contact Cathy Guske or email info@aiava.org.

VA COTE + USGBC Building Tour: LEED Silver - Virginia Tech Data and Decision Sciences Building
2026-05-21 16:00 - 17:00 | Virginia Tech Data and Decision Sciences Building, 727 Prices Fork Rd, Blacksburg, 24060, United States
Join AIAVA COTE and USGBC for our 2026 building tour series! We wish to celebrate exciting and innovative sustainable building design around the Commonwealth. Each month we will focus on a project in one of the five AIA Virginia component areas that has achieved LEED or other sustainable certification. Tours will provide AIA and USGBC CEU’s for participants.
Join us on May 21 for a tour of The Data and Decision Sciences Building at Virginia Tech is a 120,000 SF, four-story academic facility that opened in 2023 to support interdisciplinary collaboration in data analytics and decision sciences. Located on the campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, the building brings together students and faculty from the College of Engineering, the College of Science, and the Pamplin College of Business. Its Collegiate Gothic exterior clad in Hokie Stone reflects the university’s architectural traditions, while the interior features a vibrant multilevel atrium, advanced data visualization classrooms, a trading lab, and more than 30 team rooms designed for collaborative learning.
The tour will highlight key sustainability strategies integrated into the project, including a 33% reduction in whole-building energy use, 35% reduction in indoor water use, and participation in demand-response programs. Additional highlights include high-performance indoor air quality strategies, responsible material sourcing and transparency, 87% construction waste diversion, and biophilic design elements that support occupant wellbeing and connection to nature.
1 AIA LU | HSW
1 GBCI LEED Specific BD+C and LEED Green Associate CE
AIA Member: $15
USGBC Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
Students: FREE
Register Here>>
Registration closes at 4:00pm on 5/19.
*There will be an after tour social hour at Eastern Divide Brewing Company
3175 Commerce ST. Blacksburg, VA

Historic Waterford Tour + Picnic
2026-05-23 10:00 - 13:30 | Waterford School, 40222 Fairfax St, Waterford, 20197, United States
Susan Manch, Board Chair of the Waterford Foundation, will provide an overview of the historic town of Waterford, VA, a National Historic Landmark to give context prior to exploring three of the historic structures. She will then discuss the historic and restoration efforts that are ongoing at the John Wesley Church and Old School House. Following this, Susan Reed, Director of Historic Preservation with Glave & Holmes Architecture, will lead a tour of the historic Waterford Mill and discuss the history of the Mill and its relationship to the town, examine basic concepts of milling technology, explore historic masonry and timber construction, and demonstrate the kinds of deterioration associated with equipment vibration and moisture infiltration found in historic mill environments and how they were addressed during the restoration.
Tour Timeline:
9:45 – Gather at Waterford School
10:00 – Introduction to Waterford Foundation (Jim S/Sue Manch)
10:15 – Walk to Schoolhouse – Visit Inside
10:45 – Walk to Mill – Tour of Mill
11:30 – Tour/Discussion about John Wesley Church and Ongoing Work
12:15 – Return to Waterford School for light lunch and refreshments
1:30 – Event concludes
Presenter Bios:
Sue Manch is the Waterford Foundation’s Former Board President. Sue lives in the Ephraim Schooley House in Waterford. Sue has been a thought leader in the legal talent development field for over 30 years and is currently the principal of Legal Talent Strategies, a consulting firm that supports law firms with talent strategies. She sits on the Waterford Foundation Education Committee, the Waterford Foundation Homes Tours Committee, the Waterford 2033 Committee, and the Waterford Citizens Association Beautification Committee.
Susan Reed, AIA, NCARB is the Director of Historic Preservation at Glave Holmes. As a historic preservation architect, Susan brings a wealth of experience to projects in historic settings. She is skilled in restoration and rehabilitation design, designing compatible additions to historic structures, creating new designs for historic contexts, and navigating State and Federal Historic Tax Credits, Historic Structure Reports, and Conditions Assessments. Susan has worked on various project types including theatres, museums, academic buildings, warehouses, historic residences, commercial buildings, churches, rural farm buildings, government buildings, and even an offshore lighthouse
AIA Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
2 AIA LU | HSW
Register Here>>
Registration deadline is Friday, May 22 at 9:00 a.m.

Vision to Action: AIA Virginia COTE 2026 Sustainability Summit
2026-05-28 09:00 - 16:00 | Lost Office Collaborative, 5000 Old Main Street, Henrico, 23231, United States
Join us for the AIA Virginia COTE 2026 Sustainability Summit on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Richmond, VA.

The Virginia COTE Sustainability Summit brings together design professionals across Virginia committed to advancing sustainability throughout our practices. This full-day summit is structured to spark inspiration, elevate practitioner insight, and produce tangible next steps for the profession.
Earn 6 AIA LU | HSW
Purchase Tickets Here
The opening keynote by Virginia’s Chief Resilience Officer Greg Steele will frame the future challenges and opportunities facing the Commonwealth. Short, focused presentations by practitioners will highlight critical topics, innovations, and on-the-ground experiences to set the stage for more in depth discussion. Participants will then engage in morning and afternoon roundtables centered on key sustainability issues — the focus of these breakouts will ultimately be defined by the attendees, but topic prompts include policy and legislation, energy innovations, the AIA Materials Pledge, and resilience imperatives across the state. Each group will identify strategic priorities and actionable recommendations before sharing insights with the broader audience. The summit concludes with a collective synthesis session where themes are refined and distilled into a focused set of priorities to guide our shared work in the coming year.

Draft Agenda for the day:
Agenda:
8:30-9:00am: Arrival/check in & networking 9:00-9:30am: Opening keynote – Greg Steele, P.E., Chief Resilience Officer, Commonwealth of Virginia9:30-9:50: Morning Presentations

Paul Battaglia, AIA – Advocacy and Legislation
William Abrahamson, AIA, CPHC, LEED AP BD+C – Greening the Building Code
Rebecca Aarons-Sydnor, CDT, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP ID+C, GPCP – Virginia’s High Performance Building Act

9:50-10:15: Define 3-5 subtopics for breakouts/bio break/networking break10:15-11:15: Roundtables 11:15-11:45: Report out to larger group12:00-1:00: Lunch 1:00-1:30: Afternoon Presentations

Andrew McKinley, AIA, LEED AP – Resilience in Coastal Virginia
Gwen Murray, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, True Advisor – Decarbonization
Brendan Owens, PE, LEED Fellow – Operational Carbon and energy use
Bryna Dunn, Assoc. AIA, AICP, LEED Fellow – Health and Wellness in Design

1:30-1:45: Define 3-5 subtopics for breakouts 1:45-2:45: Roundtables 2:45-3:15: Report out to larger group3:15-4:00: Closing session
LocationLost Office Collaborative5000 Old Main StreetHenrico, VA 23231
TicketsAIA Member: $85Assoc. AIA Member: $75Non-member: $99Students: FREE
Purchase Tickets HereRegistration closes on 5/26 at 12:00pm
(Photo credits: Illustration by Thanh Huong Bui on Unsplash)

Destination Architect: Paths to Licensure in Virginia and Beyond
2026-05-29 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Participants will come away from the session understanding how the AXP differs from previous reporting frameworks, how AXP ties to education and examination, and what candidates should expect as they (and their supervisors) work to meet their licensure goals. AXP will be framed within NCARB’s 2 Experience Settings, and how these Settings overlap with the newly-developed Competency Standard for Architects. Candidates will also learn how to evaluate tasks completed, how to assign an Experience Area for accurate AXP reporting, and how AXP supports ARE preparation on their path to licensure.
FREE
Earn 1 LU|elective
REGISTER>>
You’ll learn…

How the AXP differs from previous reporting frameworks, and what candidates and supervisors should expect as they work together.
NCARB’s 2 Experience Settings and how they overlap with the newly-developed Competency Standard for Architects.
How to evaluate tasks completed and assign an Experience Area for accurate AXP reporting.
How the AXP fits in a candidate’s path to licensure in Virginia, including the ARE’s and NCARB Certification.

Board of Directors Meeting
2026-06-05 08:00 - 17:00 | Richmond TBD
Regular meeting of the AIA Virginia Board of Directors

Honors Nominations Close
2026-06-12 08:00 - 17:00
AIA Virginia Honors

VA COTE + USGBC Building Tour: The Edgar Shannon Library
2026-06-17 16:00 - 17:00 | Shannon Library, 160 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, 22904, United States
(Photo Credits: Tim Hursley)
Join AIAVA COTE and USGBC for our 2026 building tour series! We wish to celebrate exciting and innovative sustainable building design around the Commonwealth. Each month we will focus on a project in one of the five AIA Virginia component areas that has achieved LEED or other sustainable certification. Tours will provide AIA and USGC CEU’s for participants.
Join us on June 17 to tour the LEED-Gold renovation of Shannon library. The renovation brought the building up to current standards of performance, safety, accessibility and service. It was essential to restore the library to the position it enjoyed when it first opened in 1938 — a contemporary library with modern amenities suited to the needs of its users. Scope includes a new 130,000-square-foot addition and renovation of 100,000 square feet of the historic building, encompassing open shelving for better access to the extensive holdings, study areas, reading rooms, staff work areas and spaces for scholarly research and preservation of books. The building offers a better layout and more natural light, including in two new study courts, for members of the University community as they study, research, and socialize. Historic fixtures, furniture and bookshelves were refinished and restored, with the lighting converted to LED. 75,000 gallon cisterns under Nameless field retain rainwater runoff, and over 120 tons of metal shelving was recycled. Aligning with UVA standards, there is no irrigation on-site. The project demonstrated over 40% energy cost savings from the baseline and prioritized low-emitting products and those with transparency in manufacturing and content. It is now ready to serve the University community for another century.

1 AIA LU | HSW
1 GBCI LEED Specific BD+C and LEED Green Associate CE
AIA Member: $15
USGBC Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
Students: FREE
Register Here>>
*Registration closes at 1:00pm on 6/17
*There will be a social hour after the tour at the Rooftop Bar at the Graduate by Hilton Charlottesville: 1309 W Main St, Charlottesville, VA 22903

Design Awards Submissions Close
2026-06-26 08:00 - 17:00
Design Awards | Awards for Excellence

Safety-Assessment Program (SAP) Training
2026-07-09 08:30 - 15:30 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Post-disaster Safety-Assessment Program (SAP) training provides architects, engineers, and building inspectors with the knowledge to provide evaluations of facilities and buildings in the aftermath of a disaster.
At the end of this training, you will be able to:

Recognize the important role architects and associated building professionals play in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
Accurately conduct a post-disaster rapid building assessment and complete appropriate damage assessment forms.
Demonstrate understanding of the Applied Technology Council’s ATC-20 Post-earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings and ATC 45 Safety Evaluation of Buildings after Windstorms and Floods damage assessment procedures.
Earn a Cal-OES registration ID card.

Date: Thursday, July 9, 2026
Time: 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Location: Virtual Training via Zoom
FREE
Earn 6.5 AIA LU | HSW
Register Here>>
You will need to purchase the 2 Field Manuals for this class.
1. ATC 45 Field Manual: Safety Evaluation of Buildings after Windstorms and Floods
2. ATC 20-1 Field Manual: Postearthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings (2nd Edition)

Firm Size and Non-Traditional Member Roundtables
2026-08-19 12:30 - 13:30 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Join your peers to discuss the issues and trends in your firms or non-traditional practice.

Small Firms (1-10 employees)
Mid-Size Firms (11-49 employees)
Large Firms (50+ employees)
Non-Traditional – you don’t work in an architecture firm

Board of Directors Meeting
2026-08-21 08:00 - 17:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting

Career Stage Member Roundtables
2026-08-26 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Join us for our Career Stage roundtables to discuss issues that are important to you!

Emerging Professionals
Mid-Career Professionals
Late-Career Professionals
