This September, the AIA Northern Virginia Board of Directors traded the usual conference room for the historic streets of Old Town Alexandria, gathering for their monthly Board meeting followed by a happy hour hosted by Winstanley Architects & Planners at the firm’s centrally located office on King Street.

Winstanley’s office is itself an architectural gem: a converted brick rowhouse tucked among King Street’s shops and cafés, with a private courtyard framed by shade trees, weathered brick walls, and striking sculptures standing against the garden walls. It made for the perfect backdrop to close out a busy day of Chapter business. As the sun dropped low over King Street, the Board, committee leaders, and longtime Chapter members filtered in through the courtyard gate to be greeted by the Winstanley team including Leejung Hong, Principal and Mike Balaban, Managing Principal (pictured left).

Before the wine glasses came out, however, the Board worked through a full agenda of Chapter business. A few highlights from this month’s committee reports include:

• Women in Architecture (WIA) welcomed its incoming 2027 co-chairs, Monica Retzke, AIA and Riddhi Sanghvi, AIA and is deep into planning its “Beyond the Podium” panel discussion on public speaking and leadership.

• Committee on the Environment (COTE) reported strong turnout for its August dialogue on LEED v5 at Jacobs in Arlington, with more programming on energy, value, and resilience planned for the Fall.

• Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) continues its monthly speaker series, with VMDO presenting next on an elevated sports field built above a parking deck at HB Woodlawn in Arlington.

• School Connections Committee (SCC) is deep in preparations for the annual Interschool Student Design Competition, the 2026 Mug Competition, and building out a database connecting DMV-area firms with student interns.

• LGBTQIA+ Alliance is finalizing a virtual program on equity in insurance policies and benefits, alongside continued planning for its ArchEx presentation and happy hour in November.

Once the formal agenda concluded, the real networking began. Members spilled into the Winstanley courtyard, catching up over wine and trading stories about current projects, upcoming events, and the usual good-natured architecture-world banter.

It was the kind of evening that captured what AIA NoVA is really about: a chapter that takes its committee work seriously and its community even more so. A sincere thank-you to the entire team at Winstanley Architects & Planners for opening their beautiful King Street office and courtyard to the Board, and for hosting such a genuinely warm evening.

Interested in getting more involved with an AIA NoVA committee? Reach out to any of the committee chairs or contact the Chapter office!

Don’t forget to save the date for the Autumn Social + Honor Awards on October 22!

– Zaira Suarez, AIA