Plastic is intertwined with nearly every aspect of modern life, from the packaging of everyday goods to the construction of items like electronics, clothing, and furniture. Its versatility, affordability, and durability combined have made it an indispensable material in countless industries today. Architecture is no different from the rest of modern-day production, as plastic is used in many key components of building design. 

However, the accessible and enduring nature of plastics comes at a cost. Plastics are a leading factor in climate change, as more than 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels. By 2050, the combined greenhouse gas emissions from plastic could reach over 56 gigatons, devastating and irreversibly damaging the planet. 

Plastics are toxic, and are taking a toll on not only the health of our planet, but on our bodies as well. Many toxic additives are mixed in with plastic polymers, to give plastics their color, flexibility and other properties. The petrochemical components of plastic have been linked to cancer; as well as neurological, reproductive, and toxicity impairment of the immune system. 

Considering the harmful impact of plastics on our health, some companies have begun to identify ways in which buildings can be constructed without plastic. In fact, in 2022, UK company GreenSquareAccord completed construction on Europe’s first plastic-free affordable housing development. Other companies have taken the initiative to create new plastic-free materials to build with, such as tiles made from mussel beards, and other bio-based materials. The ability and desire to eliminate plastics from architecture is not just limited to larger companies. Whether a house needs a renovation or remodel, or you would like to construct your next home completely from scratch, there are many tips and tricks as to how you can avoid plastic in future home materials. 

This exhibition explores not only how companies worldwide are making impressive strides in the movement away from plastic-use in architecture, but also how we as everyday consumers can aid in this cause. Join us in exploring how the architecture of the future can advance beyond plastics and learn why the move away from plastics is so crucial- for ourselves and our planet.

Acknowledgments

The District Architecture Center would like to thank Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP and Prometheus Materials for sponsoring this exhibition. Additional support provided by AIA|DC Sustaining Firm Affiliate Members. 

_{EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Mary Fitch, AICP, Hon. AIA, District Architecture Center 
EXHIBITION CURATOR, SCRIPT WRITER, AND GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Molly Watkins, District Architecture Center
CONSULTING SCRIPT WRITER: Rachel Radvany, Center for International Environmental Law}

This exhibition explores the transformative power of placemaking art, inviting viewers to engage with the spaces that shape our communities. With a deep-rooted passion for urbanism and sustainable environments, My Ly approaches each project as an opportunity to create unique and meaningful connections through design. This exhibition showcases her ability to craft spaces that not only serve a function but also foster a sense of vitality, belonging and identity.

Drawing from her extensive background in architecture, urban design, and art, My's work blends creative vision a strong focus on community engagement. Her projects, both large and small, emphasize the importance of collaboration and inclusive design in shaping vibrant public and private spaces. As an award-winning designer, My's work in placemaking has been recognized for its ability to transform environments into active, living art.

Through this exhibition, My Ly Design invites viewers to reflect on public space and how creative design can impact social dynamics and cultural identity in the built environment.

Acknowledgments

This exhibition is organized by the District Architecture Center for the Suman Sorg Gallery. The exhibition is made possible with generous support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Additional support provided by AIA|DC Sustaining Firm Affiliate Members. 

_{EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Mary Fitch, AICP, Hon. AIA, District Architecture Center 
EXHIBITION MANAGER: Molly Watkins, District Architecture Center
ARTIST: My Ly Design @mylydesign} 
  

This March, join the American Institute of Architects and the DC Preservation League for a panel discussion focused on women’s experiences in preservation. This session's participants will be discussing career trajectories, common challenges, and favorite projects. This educational session will provide attendees with valuable insight into the field and connect various sectors of modern preservation.

Meet the panelists…

Marnique Heath, FAIA, is a Principal and Chair of the Board of Directors of STUDIOS Architecture, an international design firm specializing in workplace, civic and institutional, and mixed‐use projects. At STUDIOS, she oversees an innovative design practice with a diverse client base, including the District and Federal government, educational and cultural institutions, non‐profit organizations, and many private corporations. She is highly valued for her efforts to lead the firm into a new generation of industry practice where diverse interests and backgrounds must be valued and represented to create inclusive places and communities. She also reinforces climate justice as essential for creating equitable communities.
 

Sarah Vonesh is the Director of Preservation Planning and a Senior Project Manager at EHT Traceries, a woman-owned historic preservation firm in Washington, DC. She holds a MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University and a BA in Historic Preservation and Community Planning from the College of Charleston. Sarah specializes in the sensitive rehabilitation of historic properties, working with building owners, architects, and developers. She contributes to strategic planning, Historic Structure Reports, and National Register nominations, ensuring historic sites remain vibrant and accessible while balancing preservation with modern needs.
 

Betsy Merritt is deputy general counsel at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, where she has been responsible for the National Trust’s legal advocacy program for the past 25 years. Although Merritt is known for her litigation work, having represented the National Trust in nearly 200 cases in state and federal courts, including two dozen transportation cases, she has a stronger interest in using negotiation and administrative advocacy to persuade government agencies to make more preservation-sensitive decisions, especially through consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Betsy is a native of Seattle, Washington. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 1980, and from Mills College in Oakland, California in 1976.
 

Lauren McHale was appointed President of The L’Enfant Trust in 2017, after serving as Executive Director and Director of Preservation. In 2012, she initiated the Trust’s Historic Properties Redevelopment Program. Lauren has a B.A. in Art History and Historic Preservation & Community Planning from the College of Charleston and an M.S. in Historic Preservation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the past Chair of the Preservation Action Foundation and Past President of the Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians. Lauren currently serves as an ACE DC Mentor Program board member and a citizen member of the Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Committee of Washington, DC’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C.

In partnership with the DC Preservation League.

Explore the transformation of downtown living with Balsa, an innovative office-to-residential (O2R) conversion developed by Willowbridge and designed by Hickok Cole. Completed in August 2024, Balsa is one of the first newly built O2R projects in the heart of Washington DC, offering 222 modern residences and an extensive rooftop amenity package. The redevelopment preserved the existing below-grade parking structure while reimagining the six-story building by replacing the top 4 levels of steel construction with an 11-story light-gauge metal structure above—blending sustainability with forward-thinking design.

Join us for an exclusive walking tour to explore Balsa and its role in reshaping the downtown landscape. As one of five office-to-residential conversion projects currently being designed by Hickok Cole within a three-block radius, Balsa exemplifies the future of adaptive reuse, breathing new life into former office spaces. Discover the architectural innovations behind the transformation, experience the thoughtfully designed residences, and take in the rooftop amenities that maximize views, light and the existing structure.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key design and construction strategies for Office-to-Residential (O2R) conversion, including structural modifications, material selection, and adaptive reuse principles.
• Evaluate sustainable and adaptive reuse practices by assessing how existing building components, such as below-grade parking structures, are repurposed to reduce environmental impact and improve efficiency.
• Assess the impact of O2R conversions on urban development by analyzing their role in addressing housing demand, enhancing walkability, and fostering mixed-use communities.
• Analyze architectural and engineering innovations, including the use of light-gauge metal construction and other advanced techniques, to create modern and efficient residential buildings.

Presented by:

Guilherme Almeida, Associate Principal, Director of Sustainability + High Performance Design
AIA, NCARB, LEED Green Associate

Art by Architects 2025 is an exciting exhibition that highlights art created by local architects, architecture students, chapter members, and others in the community who have a passion for architecture. 

On view through April 2025, this exhibition displays a variety of art mediums, included but not limited to paintings, digital works, photographs, furniture, sketches, and 3-dimensional pieces. This multi-medium exhibition showcases how architects are not confined to just building design but have the capacity to create exquisite works of art that demonstrate their individual creativity and innovation. Art by Architects encourages the viewer to celebrate the creative synergy between these two disciplines and discover how architecture can inspire profound artistic exploration.

Participating Artists

Charles Bergen
Mohd Bilbeisi
Gordon Binder
Caitlin Brady
Sally Cansoneri
David Cox
Kendall Dorman
Claire Egelhoff
Luke Giaccio
Bradford Grant
Kaitlyn Hay
Jonathan Herz
Zherti Jasa
P D Klein
Kimoy Lallement
Eric Leland
Joey Manlapaz
Charles Matta
Frank Mobilio
Ken Reed
Joseph Sacco
Ronald Schneck
Milton Shinberg
Renata Southard
Lyuba Tartova
Ira Tattelman
Peter VanderPoel
Michael Vann
Richard Vitullo

Acknowledgments

This exhibition is organized by the District Architecture Center for the Sorg Gallery. The exhibition is made possible with generous support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Additional support provided by AIA|DC Sustaining Firm Affiliate Members. 

_{EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Mary Fitch, AICP, Hon. AIA, District Architecture Center 
EXHIBITION DESIGNER & SCRIPT WRITER: Molly Watkins, District Architecture Center}

Discover the fusion of architecture and adornment in our exhibition, Built to Adorn: Jewelry and the Architecture of DC.

This exhibition illuminates unique jewelry pieces whose designs draw inspiration from the city’s iconic buildings and monuments. Several of these jewelry pieces were created by world-renowned architects, while others were inspired by the style of significant architects, such as Mies Van Der Rohe. A handful of the pieces in the exhibition were crafted by talented jewelry designers who simply found inspiration in particular architectural elements of DC buildings. Each piece reflects the rich history, intricate details, and cultural significance of DC's architectural landscape, transforming familiar structures into wearable art. Join us to explore how these stunning creations celebrate the beauty of the city through the lens of wearable design and craftsmanship.

Selected Projects

<sub>Treppe Necklace and Earrings,                                 Alessi Clock pin, designed by
designed by Off on a Tangent                                   Michael Graves

Mies Necklace Wave Long, designed by
Iskin Sisters</sub>

Acknowledgments

This exhibition is organized by the District Architecture Center for the Sigal Gallery. The exhibition is made possible with generous support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Additional support provided by AIA|DC Sustaining Firm Affiliate Members. 

_{EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Mary Fitch, AICP, Hon. AIA, District Architecture Center 
EXHIBITION DESIGNER, CURATOR, & SCRIPT WRITER: Molly Watkins, District Architecture Center}

Movement and migration have been intrinsic to the human experience for millennia, tracing back to our nomadic roots. The advent of sedentism sparked the necessity for architecture, as temporary dwellings evolved into permanent structures. We often use the term homesick to describe an emotional ache, a profound longing for a past that no longer exists. 

This exhibition challenges the traditional view of the home as a space linked to health and well-being, proposing instead that our homes also reflect our illnesses and mortality. Homesickness can be seen both as a medical condition and as a commentary on the "sick home," critiquing dense architecture that often disregards the cultural values inherent to dwelling. This exhibition serves as a theoretical and practical reflection, intertwining human behavior theories with architectural science. Each piece seeks to evoke emotions such as the repetition of memories, mania, and hysteria associated with longing and the pain of return, as described in the concept of nostalgia. At the same time, it critiques the notion of domestic architecture as inherently healthy, revealing instead how it can repress and homogenize us into a singular way of living. It invites us to view homes as places for illness rather than merely spaces for healing.

Selected Images

This exhibition is organized by the District Architecture Center for the Sigal Gallery. The exhibition is made possible with generous support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Additional support provided by AIA|DC Sustaining Firm Affiliate Members. 

_{EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Mary Fitch, AICP, Hon. AIA, District Architecture Center 
EXHIBITION CURATOR: Camilla Mancilla, Ph.D.(c) Architecture + Design, Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech.
EXHIBITION AND PROGRAMS COORDINATOR: Molly Ford, District Architecture Center
PRINTING: BluEdge
INSTALLATION: Cross Museum Services}

By 2050, 825 million children will reach adulthood without the skills required to succeed in the workplace. Enriching education is critical, yet it is not enough.

Let's reimagine our cities and public spaces as playful learning opportunities so that we can better prepare children for success in the 21st century.

This exhibit is built upon the research supported by William Penn Foundation exploring Philadelphia's Playful Learning Landscapes Initiative. A joint project of Temple University's Infant and Child Laboratory, Playful Learning Landscapes Action Network (PLLAN), and the Brookings Institution. Playful Learning Landscapes is a broad umbrella initiative that marries community involvement and learning sciences with placemaking in order to design carefully curated playful experiences in everyday spaces. As it focuses on learning outcomes, particularly for children and families from under-resourced communities, Playful Learning Landscapes offers a new way to involve families in the kinds of experiences that enrich relationships and enhance children's development.

Select Projects

 Playbrary, Free Library of Philadelphia and William Penn Foundation              Urban Thinkscape, William Penn Foundation and KABOOM! Play Everywhere

                                             Supermarket Speak, Temple Infant and Child Lab (initial installation), Too Small to Fail Initiative of the Clinton Foundation, 

                                             and the Kaiser Family Foundation

Acknowledgments 

This exhibition was reimagined and organized by the District Architecture Center for the Sigal Gallery. The exhibition is made possible with generous support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Additional support provided by AIA|DC Sustaining Firm Affiliate Members. 

_{EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Mary Fitch, AICP, Hon. AIA, District Architecture Center 
EXHIBITION DESIGN: Tiffany Mercer-Robbins, radiantHUE®
EXHIBITION AND PROGRAMS COORDINATOR: Molly Ford, District Architecture Center
PRINTING: BluEdge
INSTALLATION: Cross Museum Services}

Every building represents an investment of money, effort, and materials. A building’s owners, users, and even its neighbors therefore have a strong interest in its continued viability. That is why any structure that survives long enough is likely to undergo regular maintenance, occasional restoration, or possibly comprehensive renovation. 

Even so, some buildings inevitably become obsolete due to changes in business practices, technology, demographics, or other factors. Fortunately, many structures facing obsolescence can be converted to purposes other than the ones for which they were designed—a process known as adaptive reuse. Essentially a form of recycling at a large scale, adaptive reuse offers numerous potential advantages over new construction, including:

Environmental benefits

• Conservation of natural resources
• Energy savings 
• Reduced construction waste

Economic benefits

• Cost savings
• Increased property values
• Opportunities for emerging businesses

Social benefits

• Preservation of cultural heritage
• Community revitalization
• Neighborhood diversification

Adaptive reuse is already a cornerstone of the design and building industry. According to the AIA Firm Survey Report 2022, renovations of existing buildings accounted for 46% of architecture firms’ billings in 2021. The global consulting firm Deloitte has estimated that upwards of 90% of real estate development may be focused on renovation and adaptive reuse in the near future.

This exhibition presents 19 buildings in the Washington area that architects have recently reimagined, bringing new life to structures that might otherwise have been doomed to disuse, decay, and ultimately the wrecking ball. 

Select Images

400 4th Street, SW, which was built as a warehouse,                        Press House, a former printing plant adapted as offices by Torti Gallas   converted into the Washington Design Center, and                          Urban with Hickok Cole designing the interior for its own office

then renovated by SmithGroupJJR as the Museum                         Photo © Garrett Rowland           

of the Bible. Photo © Alan Karchmer

Chapman Stables, a residential complex                                Park + Ford, a pair of former offices

adapted from a historic stable and garage by                        converted to residential use

Studio Twenty Seven Architecture. Photo ©                          Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS

Anice Hoachlander                                                                    Photo © Anice Hoachlander         

SPONSORS

KEYSTONE 
_{Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners 
DPR Construction 
David and Patricia Haresign}

_{Gilbane Building Company}

THRESHOLD 
_{Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS 
Eric Colbert & Associates 
GCS-SIGAL 
Hartman-Cox Architects
Hickok Cole 
SmithGroup
StudioMB 
Studio Twenty Seven Architects 
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company 
Anice Hoachlander/StudioHDP 
Judy Davis/StudioHDP}

OTHER GIFTS 
_{Jon Hensley Architects
KUBE architecture}

EXHIBITION TEAM 
_{EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Mary Fitch, AICP, Hon. AIA, District Architecture Center 
CURATOR AND SCRIPT WRITER: G. Martin Moeller, Jr., Assoc. AIA, Independent Curator and Writer/Editor of ArchitectureDC 
EXHIBITION/GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Jennifer Byrne, Live.Create.Play. LLC®
EXHIBITION AND PROGRAMS COORDINATOR: Molly Ford, District Architecture Center}

_{DAC thanks David Haresign, FAIA, of Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS, who originated the idea for this exhibition series.} 

_{PRINTING: BluEdge}

_{INSTALLATION: Cross Museum Services}

Widespread and destructive wildfires in places like California and Canada, strong hurricanes intensifying quickly and occurring more frequently, record high temperatures, and more-intense rain events leading to flooding are some of the long-anticipated consequences of climate change. Reducing carbon emissions can help mitigate these impacts, and while doing that in a major way will require actions from governments, industries, and communities, our choices as individuals can also play a part—as long as we know what to do. So, what steps can each of us take with our homes and how we live in them to help the overall effort to reduce carbon emissions?

This exhibition shows 15 simple steps we can each take that can have an immediate impact on our home-related carbon footprints. It also presents a few additional steps, if you want to take things a little further. These are by no means the only possible actions, but they can make for a good start.

Acknowledgments 

Cooling the Planet one Step at a Time: 15 Ways to Reduce Your Home Carbon Footprint is organized by the District Architecture Center. This exhibition is made possible by the generous support of DAC’s Sustaining Firm Members.

_{Executive Director, Exhibition conception and script: Mary Fitch, AICP, Hon. AIA}

_{Editors: Jonathan Penndorf, FAIA, and Ronald O’Rourke}

_{Exhibition Design: James B. Hicks, III}

_{Exhibition and Programs Coordinator: Molly Ford}

_{Printing production by BluEdge}