| Volume 5, No. 8 - August 9, 2011 |
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 Belize House, by James Hricko Architect LLC (more info) |
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Save the date... 36th Annual Chapter Dinner, Honors Celebration + Elections T U E S D A Y, O C T O B E R 1 8 |
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In Practice... |
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National AIA Committee Opportunities The AIA is interested in hearing from you if you might consider serving on a national committee or task group. To view the possibilities, you can access a chart of committees as a PDF here. If you are interested, please email your resume and a photo to the Chapter at aianova@aianova.org. 2012 President-elect Jeffery Potter, FAIA, will be reviewing all the submissions in mid-October and appointments will be made before the end of the year. And, of course, we would really appreciate you joining one of our Chapter's committees. Make the most of your membership, get involved, meet new colleagues and develop new talents. A list of our Chapter committees may be found here. Again, just an email or call to (703)549-9747 will get you started. 2012 AIA Honor Awards Submissions Due August 26 Each year since 1949, the AIA has celebrated outstanding architecture through the Honor Awards program. The AIA continues that tradition by inviting you to submit your firm's best recent work in three divisions: Architecture, Interior Architecture and Regional and Urban Design. This program also includes the Twenty-five Year Award, which recognizes architectural design of enduring significance. AIA members are urged to submit projects completed between 1977 and 1987 that have contributed meaningfully to American life and architecture. Online submissions for all Honor Awards are due on August 26. While there are fees required to submit projects to the program, there are no fees to submit a nomination for the Twenty-five Year Award. The complete Call for Entries can be accessed here. AIA Virtual Convention Launches Online and On Your Mobile Device Need some credits this summer? Get the Best of San Francisco, Miami, and New Orleans...AIA's Virtual Convention features 35 courses from recent national conventions to provide all the credits you need, including HSW + SD credits. Sessions can be viewed without charge, but a course fee will be charged to access the quiz required to obtain credit. There is currently a summer discount of $29.99 per course. After Labor Day the cost will revert to $34.99. Credit will be automatically updated to your AIA transcript. View a list of courses and learn more here. |
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Belize House |
 The program called for a full-time, low-maintenance, secure residence for a retiring individual on Ambergris Caye, Belize, on a one-third acre lot facing the Caribbean Sea. The house is located to take advantage of the view of the sea and the distant barrier reef (the second longest in the world) and take advantage of the continuous trade winds blowing from the east.The owner required one bedroom, one bath, an open kitchen-dining-living area opening to a covered porch facing the sea, utility area and a small storage room. Since water wells are not possible and there is no public water, a 10,000 gallon cistern, located below the house, captures rainwater from the roof,  which is then pumped through a water treatment system. Natural ventilation is facilitated by large windows and doors opening to the sea and prevailing breezes, all with security shutters. A cathedral ceiling, which runs the length of the house, and ceiling fans facilitate air movement.The primary way of getting building materials to the site is by barge from the water requiring the design to utilize traditional island building techniques and materials, including reinforced concrete building frame (footings, columns, beams, slab), concrete block wall in-fill with stucco finish on the exterior and interior, native wood timber harvested from the Belize mainland (mahogany ceiling with other exposed hardwood of barbajolete), corrugated metal roofing and native ceramic tile flooring. Playful exterior colors recall indigenous architecture. |
 photography by David Stasko |
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August 16 - Women in Architecture Happy Hour August 16 - Communications Committee Meeting August 26 - Jazz Night with WIA September 12 - AIA Northern Virginia Board Meeting September 16 - Small Firms Roundtable - Open Discussion September 18 - Inter-School Design Competition: Design Charette September 20 - Inter-School Design Competition: Awards Ceremony September 21 - AIA Northern Virginia Lunch Series September 21 - Women in Architecture Happy Hour October 2 - Solar Decathlon Tour |