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Design Awards

DA
For those who want to collaborate on continuously evolving our members’ recognition of design excellence
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Photo Credit © Victory V

About Us

The mission of the AIA NOVA Design Awards committee is to promote Design Excellence and awareness in the community, through the adoption of the AIA Framework for Design Excellence. The primary goal of the Design Awards Committee is to promote and celebrate Design Excellence generated by the members of the AIA Northern Virginia Chapter, and coordinate with other design programs in the region to recognize the work of our chapter. Submissions are organized into seven categories for consideration, historic, institutional, commercial, commercial interiors, infrastructure and unbuilt. Each year the committee reaches out to other AIA chapters across the United States with similar membership qualities and numbers to select that year’s jury for the submissions. The winning projects for that year are celebrated at a summer Design Awards Gala Event in a significant architecture space in the community.

Involvement in the Design Awards Committee is a rewarding experience with opportunities to participate in jury selection, gala awards event venue selection, catering options, media coordination, submission guideline updates, submittal organization, graphics development, presentation elements and sponsorship development.

Our Leadership

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Roland Lemke, AIA

2025 Co-Chair
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JPaul Lewis, AIA

2025 Co-Chair

Check Out Latest News

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05/21/2025

AIA Northern Virginia Architecture Month – 2025 Recap

AIA Northern Virginia celebrated Architecture Month during April and we’re happy to report that it was very successful*, with several sold out events. Our committees led a full slate of programs, setting up design tours, sketching workshops, and lectures to engage the many audiences we serve. Our annual celebration of all things Architecture in Northern Virginia kicked off with an
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Photo Credit ©️ AIA NoVA
05/21/2025

Help Us Celebrate Those Who Make a Difference

The AIA NoVA Honors & Nominations Committee is now accepting nominations for our 2025 chapter Honor Awards. We invite you to help us recognize the individuals, partners, and organizations who shape our profession and contribute to our community. Each year, we celebrate contributions across a variety of categories, including: Nominations are easy. All we need is the name of an
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Photo Credit ©️La Biennale
05/21/2025

AIA NoVA Architect Returns to the 2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture 

The 19th International Architecture Exhibition, Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., curated by Carlo Ratti and produced by La Biennale di Venezia, is open to the public now through Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, at the Giardini, the Arsenale, and various locations across Venice. The Exhibition searches for a path forward, proposing that intelligent solutions to pressing problems can take many forms. It
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Photo Credit © Victory V
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Photo Credit © JPLimagery
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Photo Credit © Victory V
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Photo Credit © JPLimagery