Fall Newsletter 2023

Local Firms Win State Design Awards

AIA VIRGINIA 2023 DESIGN AWARDS

This year, AIA Virginia’s Design Awards celebrate projects that contribute to the built environment and are clear examples of thoughtful, engaging design. Fourteen projects were selected by the jury for recognition from the 144 entries submitted. Awards of Merit are presented to projects worth of recognition, while Awards of Honor are reserved for projects deemed by the jury as truly exceptional. Using the AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence, projects are judged according to aesthetics, social impact, innovation, context, performance, and stewardship of the natural environment.

Congratulations to all the winners especially the local firms who took home four of fourteen awards:
> Read full story here

• Award of Honor - Architecture: Center of Developing Entrepreneurs, Wolf Ackerman

• Award of Merit - Architecture: Thurston Hall Renovation, VMDO Architects

• Award of Merit - Residential Design: Foal House and Studio, Gehrung Graham LLC

• Honorable Mention - Small Projects: Tangential Timber, After Architecture, LLC & University of Virginia Before Building Laboratory

MID-CAREER PROFESSIONALS

AIA CV launches a new program!

This month, mid-career professionals from our Chapter met in a daylit art gallery in Jbird Supply Coffee Roaster at Studio IX to kick-off our newest program, the ‘Mid-Career Professionals’ group. This ‘pilot program’ builds on the work of the AIA Virginia Mid-Career Taskforce and Mid-Career Roundtables, to give members a venue to discuss the joys and challenges of balancing work and life in one of its most demanding seasons.

Our far-reaching and engaging conversation about our paths in the profession, successes and challenges, and what a group like this can provide yielded a number of themes and take-aways we’ll explore in our next few meetings. The goal of the pilot program is to build a thriving community for Mid-Career members while trying out different meeting formats to help inform Mid-Career program development at AIA Virginia.

Thanks to all who attended, especially Allied Member Jeremy Boynton with Lighting Virginia, who donated the space!

> Read full story here

-sHAWN mULLIGAN, aia

AIA Central Virginia Mid-Career Professionals meet bi-monthly to learn from each other and local experts about the best ways to grow and thrive - in life and work. If you, or someone you know, wants to get involved, contact Shawn at: shawn@designclarity.co.

ARCHITECTURE EXCHANGE EAST!

This November, AIA Virginia hosted its annual conference, Architecture Exchange East - affectionately known as ArchEx - in Richmond, Virginia. Three days of learning and connecting with colleagues and friends. In its second year back since the pandemic, ArchEx is finding new ways to bring us together as the pinnacle of education and camaraderie for Architects in Virginia.

AIA Central Virginia members and leaders were featured throughout the gathering, from the intimate ‘fireside chat’ led by Paul Battaglia (AIA VA Executive Vice President) with AIA Virginia leaders Mitch Rowland (AIA VA President) and Kelly Callahan (AIA VA President-Elect) about what AIA means to them and why they chose to lead, to the many AIA VA Design Awards winners celebrated at Visions for Architecture!

Here are a few highlights from the event:

• Kelly Callahan, AIA Virginia’s next President, discussed her path in the profession and 10 key lessons she learned along the way.

• Area firms won four Design Awards! Congratulations Gehrung Graham LLC, VMDO Architects, Wolf Ackerman, and After Architecture / UVA Before Building Laboratory.

• Sidney Griffin, AIA CV President-Elect, presented “BIM Management for Owners”, featuring experimentation with AI!

• Roundtable Discussions - firm-size and career-stage - gave members a chance to connect with peers and learn from each other about our challenges and successes. AIA CV President, Shawn Mulligan led the Mid-Career Roundtable!

• Jodey Lahendro FAIA, presented his work restoring the historic Rosenwald schools in Virginia.

• Hamilton Glass led a walking tour of the Mending Walls murals, an ambitious art project aimed at fostering empathetic, healing conversations across diverse communities in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

ELA 2023 designs Resilience Hubs for Albemarle County!

Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA) Class of 2023 presented their Resilience Hub project in Albemarle County to an excited crowd of community members and local officials. Designed in collaboration with Resilient Together and the Albemarle County Government, this year’s ELA class researched the ways Resilience Hubs can enhance resilience and community connection for years to come.

Congratulations to AIA CV members Mira Abdalla and Caitlin Morgan, and our former EP Liaison Cat Smith for their excellent work - and special thanks to Noah Bolton for organizing this year’s class

The ELA brings 15 young professionals from across the state together for a program that fosters leadership and community-building skills for architects. Each ELA Class takes on a project in one of Virginia's five regions. This year’s class focused on Climate Resilience Hubs and their potential to bolster communities in Albemarle County. For the past 10 months, the class has studied how to enhance existing community gathering spaces in Albemarle County to strengthen community, and climate resilience, at the local level.0

> Watch the ELA Class of 2023 Presentation
> Learn more about ELA
> Learn more about Resilient Together

NEWS & UPCOMING EVENTS

AIA Central Virginia > calendar

Winter Social + Annual Meeting, WED DEC 20, 2023, 5:30-7:30pm
Join us December 20th (12/20) for our Winter Social and Annual Meeting at Common House in Charlottesville. Celebrate the holidays with friends and colleagues, and vote in our new Board! Food, drinks, friends, and cheer - we can't wait to celebrate with you! Please RSVP.
> Full information and RSVP here

AIA CV New Board Orientation, TUE JAN 16, 2024, 10:00am - 2:00pm.
AIA CV Board Members will debrief from the past two years and prepare and plan for the years to come.

Cville Revit User Group: Roundtable Workshop, WED JAN 17, 2024, 12:30 - 1:30pm.
Together we will walk through the challenges we face when incorporating new BIM technologies and assets into our workflow.
> Full information and registration here

AIA CV Valley Social, WED JAN 24, 5:30-7:30pm
Join us for our next Valley Social, as we visit the offices of Blueline and Gaines Group Architects with local members and students from JMU.

AIA Virginia

AIA VA COTE - AIA+2030 Online Series, DEC 12, 12:00-1:30pm.
Course 9: Staying in Shape: O&M and Commissioning. Learn how to use an actionable framework for getting to carbon neutral. This series is brought to you for FREE by the AIA Virginia Committee on the Environment (COTE) through a Knowledge Community (KC) grant. Join this free course to earn 1.5 AIA LU | HSW.
> More information here

Procrastinator’s Series: Fitness Center Noise and Vibration Control, DEC 13, 12:00-1:00pm.
Join AIAVA for our Procrastinator series – a series of Lunch and Learn sessions for those of us who couldn’t get around to it before now. These sessions are for you if you happen to be running behind on your learning units for the year or waiting till the last minute, because we get it.
> More information here

Procrastinator’s Series: Waterproofing Roof Decks and Balconies with Walkable PVC Membranes, DEC 14, 12:00-1:00pm.
Join AIAVA for our Procrastinator series – a series of Lunch and Learn sessions for those of us who couldn’t get around to it before now. These sessions are for you if you happen to be running behind on your learning units for the year or waiting till the last minute, because we get it.
> More information here

AIA VA COTE - Putting it Together: Achieving 2030 Goals on the Project and in the Office, DEC 19, 12:00-1:30pm.
Learn how to use an actionable framework for getting to carbon neutral. This series is brought to you for FREE by the AIA Virginia Committee on the Environment (COTE) through a Knowledge Community (KC) grant.
> More information here

SAVE THE DATE: Virginia Design Forum, FRI APR 5 - SAT APR 6, 2024.
Please join us for the upcoming 2024 Design Forum XVI at Richmond’s Institute for Contemporary Art VCU. The theme of Design Forum XVI will be [Un]Certainty: Reflections on Craft at the Cyber Frontier, and our speakers will challenge assumptions and define new boundaries along the spectrum of craft and design, evolving how humanness and technology continue to intersect in our built environment.

Speakers include Billie Tsien of TWBTA, Dwayne Oyler of Oyler Wu Collaborative, and Ted Flato of Lake Flato
> Learn more here

AIA National

AIA Leadership Summit 2024, FEB 27 - MAR 1, 2024.
AIA Leadership Summit 2024 is the premier advocacy and leadership training event for AIA chapter leaders. This annual event is designed to help AIA chapter leaders maximize their leadership potential in their chapters, communities, and the architecture profession.
> Learn more here

AIA Conference on Architecture & Design 2024, JUN 5-8, 2024.
We often talk about the future. The AIA Conference on Architecture & Design (AIA24) is where the AEC industry gathers to define it, design it, and connect across industries to build it. Join us in Washington DC to be a part of the conversation.
> Learn more here

YAF Connection AIA Young Architects Forum (YAF) has a new newsletter
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