Final Events of Architecture Month

Design Awards Gala

Educating Green Builders

In Practice...

Featured Project: Rappahannock
  Regional Jail

Calendar

Visit the AIA Northern Virginia Website

Plan on attending the Design Awards Gala on Saturday, June 6. We are excited to announce that this year's celebration will take place at the new Volkswagen Group of America U.S. Headquarters in Herndon. Designed by VOA Associates Incorporated, the interior is an exciting showcase for the brands of Volkswagen, Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley. This dynamic workplace features an interconnecting stair and atrium with two showrooms and incorporates sustainable design concepts enabling the building to be awarded LEED® Silver certification.

Invitations to the gala will be mailed shortly. For additional information on the Volkswagen Group of America U.S. Headquarters, see the article in our January/February 2009 newsletter.

Design Awards submittals are due Friday, May 8. For details, view the Design Awards Website for the call for entries.

The House of Representatives will soon vote on legislation that would provide funding for undergraduate and graduate architecture and engineering programs relating to the design and construction of high performance buildings. The bill, The Green Energy Education Act of 2009 (HR 957), could be on the House floor as early as today. Please send a message to your member of Congress urging them to support this vital legislation.

The Green Energy Education Act will help educate today's college and graduate architecture and engineering students on the numerous benefits of high performance buildings by authorizing the National Science Foundation to provide grants to universities to develop curricula, laboratory activities, training practicums, and design projects focusing on green buildings and advanced energy technologies. Ensuring that today's architecture and engineering students are aware of the importance of high performance buildings is a necessary step to facilitate increased construction of green buildings in the future.

This bill passed the House of Representatives in 2008 but was never brought to a vote in the Senate. If we can attract wide, bipartisan support of the bill in the House, it will increase our chances of seeing Senate action. Therefore, please visit the AIA Advocacy Center here to contact your member of Congress and urge them to vote in favor of HR 957.

Rappahannock Regional Jail Expansion
PSA-Dewberry with Balfour Beatty Construction
Stafford, VA

Construction is complete on a 432-bed addition to the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford, Virginia. The $49-million design-build project, which includes a mix of medium- and maximum-security housing, was completed on schedule in approximately 18 months. The project is among the first to be built under Virginia's Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act (PPEA) of 2002.

The design-build team of PSA-Dewberry and Balfour Beatty Construction completed the project for the Rappahannock Regional Jail Authority. A two-story, four-level housing pod was added and the existing structure was renovated to increase storage, reconfigure visitation, add a new magistrate's space and improve intake areas.

PSA-Dewberry also provided interior design and security technology services, including the addition of a video visitation system. Dewberry provided civil engineering for the project. Hankins + Anderson provided mechanical/electrical and structural engineering services.

"I am very proud and pleased that our project was one of the first in Virginia to be a design-build under the PPEA process," says Joe Higgs, superintendent of the Rappahannock Regional Jail (RRJ). "The process not only hastened the construction start-up but also afforded the staff of RRJ to customize the design of the facility. The PSA-Dewberry and Balfour Beatty team integrated personnel from RRJ and made this expansion a true team effort. I have been very pleased with the performance and relationships of commitment and trust developed during this project. Everyone involved, especially the community, has benefited."

The complex, which serves the city of Fredericksburg and the counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania and King George, has been operating since 1968 and has been located at the current Stafford site since 2000. Authority representatives estimate that the expedited design-build schedule enabled the project to be completed six to eight months sooner than a traditional construction delivery would have allowed. The Rappahannock Regional Jail is now the largest regional jail in Virginia.

For more information on PSA-Dewberry, visit www.psa-dewberry.com.

April 23 - Bird's Nest Movie Showing
April 24 - Architecture In the Schools Exhibit Opening
April 25 - Architectural Bike Tour Along the Potomac River
April 26 - Walking Tour of Historic Old Town Alexandria
May 2 - How To Work With An Architect Workshop
Architecture Month events; see the article above for information.

May 2 - ARE Prep Series: Building Systems I
10:00a-2:00p, at AECOM Design, 3101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 900, Arlington 22201. Organized by the Chapter's Young Architects Forum. For additional information, visit the Chapter ARE Website or contact the Chapter at aianova@aianova.org or (703) 549-9747.

May 7 - Financial Survival Guide: Managing Employee Benefits
Noon-1:30p, at the Chapter House, 205 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. Learn how to manage your financial survival in the current economic distress. This panel discussion will focus on the concerns of employers in managing their employee benefits programs. The panel will consider such questions as: Can I suspend or defer my firm’s retirement plan contributions? What cost savings or improved financial return can I obtain from changes in my firm’s retirement plan? How can I best manage the increasing costs of health insurance? Can I find less expensive group life and disability insurance? Time will be allowed to address questions relating to these topics. Presented by Clem Dinsmore, a financial adviser with Oppenheimer & Co., Richard Rowehl, a retirement plans specialist with Oppenheimer, and Donna Alcorn, a health and disability insurance specialist with Rust Insurance Agency. 1.5 AIA/CES LUs. Free. Lunch will be provided. Registration is required by emailing reservations@aianova.org.

May 8 - Design Awards Entries Due
5:00p, deliver to the Chapter House, 205 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For information on the Call for Entries, click here.

May 11 - AIA Northern Virginia Board Meeting
4:30p, at the Chapter House, 205 South Patrick Street, Alexandria. For additional information, contact the Chapter House at aianova@aianova.org.

May 13 - Women in Architecture - Happy Hour
This Happy Hour will be held in Ballston. If you would like to receive more information please email WIA at wia@aianova.org.

May 16 - ARE Prep Series: Building Systems II
10:00a-2:00p, at AECOM Design, 3101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 900, Arlington 22201. Organized by the Chapter's Young Architects Forum. For additional information, visit the Chapter ARE Website or contact the Chapter at aianova@aianova.org or (703) 549-9747.

June 6 - AIA Northern Virginia Design Awards Gala
At the Volkswagen Group of America Headquarters, Herndon. Bookmark the AIA Northern Virginia Design Awards Website to stay up to date on details as they are finalized.