| Volume 14, No. 4 - August 10, 2020 |
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 National Science Foundation Headquarters, by WDG Architecture (more info) |
DA20 Winners Revealed Thursday AIA Climate Plan - The Climate Imperative Architecture in Turbulent Times |
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This issue of BLAST is sponsored by Arch Resources and CM Kling |
 Design Award Winners to be Announced August 13We are excited to announce this year’s Design Award recipients during a virtual celebration on Thursday! In advance of the celebration, we are currently showcasing all of this year’s exceptional submittals, which truly represent the skills and talents of our Chapter members. In addition, the winning projects, organized by category with juror comments, will be posted on August 14. All will be available on the AIA Northern Virginia YouTube page. We encourage you to share this link with your firm, clients, contractors, and friends to participate in the celebration. Thank you to all who submitted and congratulations, in advance, to the winners! AIA Northern Virginia Honors Nominations due August 24 AIA Northern Virginia is seeking nominations for the Chapter’s Honor Awards program. These awards recognize outstanding achievements of our members and colleagues and are given at our Annual Meeting in October in the following categories: Award of Honor, Distinguished Leadership, Outstanding Achievement, Service to the Chapter, AIA Northern Virginia Chapter Award; and the Craftsmanship Award. Please visit our Honors + Awards page to learn more about the awards and to access a nomination form. You are also encouraged to reach out to our Honors Committee Chair, T.J. Meehan, AIA, with questions and to share candidate suggestions. James M. Scott Exceptional Design Awards Call for Entries  This Fairfax County program recognizes achievement in the total design of a building and its site. Any project completed in the county in the past five years is eligible for nomination. Submission categories include Residential, Commercial, Commercial Interiors, Institutional, Recreational, Historical/Adaptive Re-use/Repurposing, Mixed Use, and Community Benefit Projects.The program is sponsored by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and administered by the County's Department of Planning and Development in cooperation with the County Architectural Review Board and AIA Northern Virginia. Fairfax County projects submitted to our Design Awards Program are automatically forwarded to this awards program. Submissions are due August 21, by 5:00p. AIA Climate Action Plan - The Climate Imperative The AIA’s recently released Climate Action Plan reiterates the Institute's dedication and commitment to designing a sustainable, healthy, and equitable world. Because more than 40% of U.S. greenhouse gases can be attributed to the building industry, architects have the ability to lead the change our planet needs. AIA is prioritizing and supporting urgent climate action to exponentially accelerate the decarbonization of buildings, the building industry, and the built environment by:
 Architecture in Turbulent Times: Equity, Environment, Health, & Economy – An AIA Learning EventThe simultaneous crises of climate change, COVID-19, a looming economic depression, and systemic racial injustice have exposed structural failings that architecture, and society, must address. It’s a perfect storm that has created an unprecedented call for change. This virtual learning event, centered on change, takes place on August 12. There will be 20 powerful sessions across four tracks featuring the latest thinking by leading architects, climate champions, civic leaders, academics, and new voices. You’ll hear the brave ideas and honest dialogue that architecture needs now, and leave with the knowledge you need to be part of the solution. This event includes live programming, access to on-demand sessions for 60 days, and access to recordings of the live sessions for 60 days. Earn up to 6.25 HSW & 14.5 LUs. Details and registration are available here. A New Frontier for School Planning: Designing for Resiliency, Safety, and Well-being in the Wake of COVID-19 There is no debate that reopening schools is a critical step towards stabilizing our nation, economy, and state of social and emotional well-being. The concerns surround the when and how? While we cannot be sure when, we know that the architectural community can contribute to the how. The American Institute of Architects of Long Island and Northern Virginia invite you to a jointly hosted webinar that explores a new frontier of strategic educational planning and the role of design-thinking to support schools. You will hear from Tracey Graham, Senior Healthcare Consultant at Hord Coplan Macht, about preparedness, planning, and operational continuity pre-, during and post-pandemic / disaster. She will be joined by Jenine Kotob, AIA, School Safety Specialist at Hord Coplan Macht, and co-author of the AIA National’s report entitled, “Reopening America: Strategies for Safer Schools.” By the end of the talk, attendees will learn about operational, infrastructural, and educational recommendations that can support the resiliency, safety, and well-being of our schools for generations to come. Who's welcome? Educators, School Administrators, Architects, Students, Parents & Families. Date TBD. Stay tuned for more information and registration. If you have any questions, you can reach out to Jenine Kotob at cae@aianova.org. Quick Notes... The July Architecture Billings Index... indicates some stability in the demand for design services with a score of 40.0 [info]... Free Membership for New Grads... for up to eighteen months [info]... ArchiPrep... is free for all associate members through August. [info]... AIA Releases COVID-19 Healthcare Facility Design Checklist... providing strategies to support health care staff and patients [info]... Awards and Opportunities Due August 14 – Jason Pettigrew Memorial ARE Scholarship Applications Due August 24 – AIA Film Challenge Submissions Due September 1 – AIA Upjohn Research Initiative Grant Applications Due October 13 – AIA Fellowship Applications Upcoming AIA National Honors & Awards Programs: Due September 1 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Architectural Education Associates Award Collaborative Achievement Award Edward C. Kemper Award Honorary Membership Thomas Jefferson Awards for Public Architecture Whitney M Young Award Due September 15 Young Architects Awards |
Design News
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| Job Board As a benefit to our members, we maintain a Job Board of local postings. Pay us a visit for postings from: MW Architects LLC, Maginniss + del Ninno Architects, Michael Baker International, Niles Bolton Associates, MODE4 Architecture, Kahler Slater and Virginia Tech. While always free for Chapter members, we are waiving all Job Board fees to share as many job opportunities as we can. We also maintain a resume library and share resumes with firms that are hiring. So please send us your resume to us at aianova@aianova.org. |
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National Science Foundation Headquarters |
 The National Science Foundation Headquarters relocated in 2017 to the heart of Hoffman Town Center, a 56-acre urban core in Alexandria, Virginia, adjacent to the Eisenhower Avenue Metro Station. The development consists of two interconnected office towers, yielding 690,000-rsf of office space. The first tower rises 250 feet in 19 stories high and the second 14-story tower rises to 200 feet. A 380-space parking garage is situated below 30,000-sf of street level retail.The design adheres to guidelines established in the East Alexandria Small Area plan. These guidelines mandate a contemporary architectural expression reflecting the classical context. The project’s dynamic massing features complex curved facades toward the southeast, shaped by the geometry of Eisenhower Avenue as it is acutely intersected by the Metro rail tracks. At the base along Eisenhower, five-story retail “boxes” stand proud of the curved facades above, reestablishing the street line and maintaining a pedestrian scale. The rectilinear north and west facades, facing the existing retail and cinema complex, are finished in brick masonry and two colors of precast concrete, in a two-story punched opening configuration, compatible in proportion and materiality with the broader historic environment. The two towers are linked by a 36-foot-wide glass and metal connector, with the commercial lobby centrally accessed at its base. Building economies were realized by establishing a repetitive unitized skin, with both “curtain wall” and punched opening facades formed in precast concrete with metal and glass infill. With the exception of the retail “boxes” all masonry is thin brick. 
Exterior Photography © Maxwell McKenzie; Interior Photography © Ron Blunt |
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AUGUST CALENDAR 10 | AIA Northern Virginia Board Meeting 4:30p. [info] 11 | Site Design for Health: Best Practices for Access, Land Use and Flexible Growth 2:00p. [info] 12 | Architecture in Turbulent Times: Equity, Environment, Health, & Economy 12:00p. [info] 13 | Design Awards 2020 Celebration 7:00p. [info] 21 | WIA+YAF Virtual Pop-Up Lunch 12:00p. [info] 24 | AIA Northern Virginia Honors Nominations Due [info] 24 | James M. Scott Exceptional Design Awards Call for Entries Due 5:00p. [info] 24 | AIA Film Challenge Submissions Due [info] 31 | WIA Committee Meeting 6:00p. [info] Combined Virginia / West Virginia Event Calendar NEW – Now you can find all the webinars and architecture events in the region in one place. AIA chapters across Virginia and West Virginia are contributing to a combined calendar on the Inform Magazine site. AIA Northern Virginia Calendar | AIA|DC Calendar | AIA Potomac Valley Calendar | AIA Virginia Calendar | Branch Museum Calendar For additional information on any of these events, please contact the Chapter House at aianova@aianova.org. The Chapter House is located at 1101 Duke Street, Alexandria 22314. |