Categories

Institutional Architecture
Building design projects involving structures for education, religion + government.

Commercial Architecture
Building design projects involving structures for commerce, including but not limited to: office, retail + food service.

Residential Architecture
Residential projects, including single-family structures, multi-unit structures, additions, restorations, and renovations.

Interior Architecture
Projects involving primarily the design of interior spaces.

Historic Architecture
Building design projects involving the preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, or sympathetic adaptive reuse of older structures. Projects must remain historic in character.

Conceptual / Unbuilt Architecture
Commissioned works by Chapter members that remain unbuilt, but are worthy of the attention of colleagues and the public. Winning Conceptual / Unbuilt entries are not eligible for resubmission in built categories.

The Herlong Memorial Award
Special category for associate or intern AIA members, this award is for any type of project (personal or as a part of a firm), or part of a project, for which the entrant has had significant responsibility. Submissions must clarify entrant's specific contribution to the project.

Urban Design + Master Planning
The AIA Northern Virginia awards program does not maintain a separate category for Urban Design + Master Planning projects - however, planning projects are welcome to be submitted for consideration under the category most appropriate to the specific project, and are subject to the typical submittal requirements.


Awards

There are two major award designations: an Award of Excellence is the premier award, and an Award of Merit is the secondary award.

There is a third award possible: Jurors Special Citation.

The Jurors Special Citation is awarded, at the discretion of the jury, to a project that either lies outside of the base categories, or bears an exceptional aspect or detail that the jury feels represents excellence which deserves specific honor.

Since there are no quotas to be met, Awards of Excellence, Awards of Merit, and Jurors Special Citations may be given to as many submissions in each category as the jury believes appropriate. The Jury may also see fit to award a project in a category other than that in which it was submitted.