| Volume 6, No. 1 - January 31, 2012 |
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 Loudoun County Youth Center, by Samaha Associates, PC (more info) |
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AIA Northern Virginia Open House - Tuesday, February 21, 6:00p |
| Continuing with our Mardi Gras theme, this year's event features Cajun food and our famous Hurricanes. (Yes, the Chapter has famous Hurricanes.) Meet our Chapter Board and mingle with colleagues. Please join us for this fun (and free) event. The Chapter House is located at 205 South Patrick Street in Alexandria. [info] |
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Volunteers Needed for 2012 AIA National Convention |
| As I'm sure you know, the 2012 AIA National Convention is May 17-19 in Washington, DC. Our Chapter is organizing several tours and we need a few tour coordinators to help everything run smoothly, especially for our tours of Arlington's Metro Corridor, the Vietnam and Korean War Veterans Memorials and the Lorton Prison Site. Volunteers are also needed for a variety of assignments during the convention. As a thank you, volunteers are offered a $50 discount on convention registration. If interested, please email the Chapter House. |
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2012 Design Awards: Call for Venue |
| We have begun our search for a signature architectural space for this year's Design Awards Gala and are looking for your suggestions. We anticipate holding the event in early June. Our ideal space would include presentation space for 150, permit catering + alcoholic beverage consumption, support audio/visual capabilities, require a minimal rental fee and be Metro accessible. Please submit your suggestions for consideration by February 3 by emailing the Chapter House. |
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Vertical Mentoring Groups Forming |
| To help provide a resource network, our Young Architects Forum is organizing vertical mentoring groups, comprised of members at different career stages, who will meet on a regular basis. The kick-off session is March 1, 6:00p, at Little in Arlington. Mary P. Cox, FAIA, Director of Planning and Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, will speak about designing your best mentoring experience and then participants will gather to form vertical mentoring groups. Please refer to the article in our January/February newsletter for more information. If you are interested in participating, email the Chapter House. |
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Canstruction® 2012 |
| Canstruction® 2012 is a recipe for fun, with one part community service project and one part design/build competition. Teams of architects build structures out of canned food creating some really amazing results. And all the food is donated to the Arlington Food Assistance Center. So form a team at your firm or partner with another firm and join us. For questions or to sign up your team, email Andrew Cunneen, Associate AIA. |
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2012 Washington UNBUILT Awards |
| The Washington UNBUILT Awards Program recognizes excellence in projects that to date remain unbuilt – theoretical and unbuilt commissioned projects. Winners of this AIA|DC competition will be featured in the Unbuilt Washington exhibition at the District Architecture Center. Submission deadline February 28. [info] |
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Loudoun County Youth Center |
SAMAHA's design for the Loudoun County Youth Shelter creates a dynamic institutional facility providing a professional environment for staff and a comfortable home-like atmosphere for displaced youth. The campus style plan allows physical separation of court-ordered and victimized kids while maximizing captured open space and limiting site disturbance. The successful architectural solution: • Employs the repetition of open and closed forms, economically identifying public and private spaces while emphasizing design clarity.• Accommodates the restricted site area by elongating the shelter building to maximize natural day-lighting opportunities on the southern façade.  • Locates functions and establishes critical sight lines allowing visual security both within the buildings and across the site with minimal staff.• Creates a separate dining hall to be shared by residents of both the new and existing shelters. • Balances the sloping site by providing walk out basement for building support and recreational equipment storage. The shelter serves its occupants and the greater community through environmental stewardship achieved in its design. Twenty geothermal wells and a 120 photovoltaic panel array are just a couple of the systems responsible for the project's modeled 48.6% total energy savings below current ASHRAE standards. The completed project is expected to achieve a LEED® Gold rating and promises to be a welcome neighbor providing an important service to the Loudoun community for many years to come.  Tour Available - Samaha Associates, PC and the Loudoun County Department of Construction & Waste Management are offering a presentation and tour to showcase the newly completed Loudoun County Youth Shelter on March 3 from 2:00-4:00p. The tour is free and reservations are not required. 2 AIA HSW/SD CEHs and USGBC credit are pending. The Loudoun County Youth Shelter is located at 16445 Meadowview Court, Leesburg.Photos by F. Thomas Lee, AIA |
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February 8 - AIA Northern Virginia Lunch Series February 13 - AIA Northern Virginia Board Meeting February 15 - ARE Prep Series: Roundtable Discussion & Introduction February 17 - Small Firms Roundtable: AAC Block Tour February 21 - AIA Northern Virginia Open House February 23 - 2009 International Energy Conservation Code - Commercial and Residential Fundamentals February 29 - Architecture in the Schools Roundtable February 29 - ARE Prep Series: Supplemental Class - Architectural History I February 29 - Design Awards Committee Meeting March 1 - Vertical Mentoring Event March 16-17 - Virginia Design Forum X: SKINS |