The Virginia Society AIA Prize is a statewide student design competition, held each January. 2012 was the 32nd year for this competition. Over the course of one weekend, students from Hampton University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, and Virginia Tech WAAC respond to a problem brief written by a faculty member from one of the participating schools.
The 2012 VSAIA Prize problem was Temporary Permanence: Emergency Housing on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Students were asked to design a small house or set of houses to be used as emergency shelter after hurricanes or severe storms in the area of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The designs were to be semi-permanent, and reusable. They were to be located in proximity to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (i.e., Hatteras Light) in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Buxton, North Carolina.
The 2012 Prize Jury members were Paula Loomis, FAIA, Chair; Kurt Keesecker, AIA; Andrea Quilici, AIA; Mike Stoneking; and John Diven. The Jury is asked to award one Virginia Society AIA Prize winner, one Best of School from each other participating school, and may elect to award Honorable Mentions. This jury elected to designate two Honorable Mentions and two boards as Notable for certain creative aspects of their solution. The Virginia Society AIA Prize went to Eric Kuhn of the University of Virginia for his entry Sky Tent. The Prize was awarded during the Virginia Design Forum on March 17, 2012 at the University of Virginia.