The open discussion meetings are scheduled for the second Wednesday of each month. All current members and interested newcomers are encouraged to attend the EAC open discussions, these meetings are free and open to all, and friends and colleagues are welcome.

The AIA|DC Emerging Architects Committee (EAC) promotes education, leadership development, and community involvement among emerging architects, Associate AIA members, and architects licensed 10 years or less. We encourage the next generation of architects to start leading our community by heading committees, organizing events, participating in workshops, and attending our events.

The open discussion meetings are scheduled for the second Wednesday of each month. All current members and interested newcomers are encouraged to attend the EAC open discussions, these meetings are free and open to all, and friends and colleagues are welcome.

The AIA|DC Emerging Architects Committee (EAC) promotes education, leadership development, and community involvement among emerging architects, Associate AIA members, and architects licensed 10 years or less. We encourage the next generation of architects to start leading our community by heading committees, organizing events, participating in workshops, and attending our events.

The DC government’s 2019 Housing Initiative set forth a goal of building 36,000 housing units by 2025, a third of which are to be affordable to households earning 80% below Median Family Income. This Order directs District agencies to investigate and implement a variety of approaches to accelerate the design, construction, adaptation, and creation of housing across the city—all while considering the needs of families, an aging population, and other residents with special needs.

Progress toward meeting this goal is well underway, and architects play a significant role in bringing these targets to fruition in a way that best serves people and communities in our city’s built environment.

DesignDC’s Fall conference will focus on the designer’s role, and expertise, in solving DC’s housing crisis.

DesignDC is a hybrid experience for our members and design professionals throughout the region. Over two days of content, we will host a featured keynote speaker and a reception, followed by a day of virtual education with industry experts.

Schedule:

DesignDC Day One - In Person 

5:30 – 6:00 pm: Welcome Reception

6:00 – 7:00 pm: Keynote Presentation

7:00 – 8:00 pm: Cocktail Reception & Networking

DesignDC Day Two - Virtual

All sessions qualify for 1.0 HSW|LU

8:45 am: Opening Remarks by AIA|DC Executive Director Mary Fitch

9:00 – 10:00 am: "ADDification®" without Gentrification: Neighborhood Revitalization without Displacement

10:15 – 11:15 am: Beyond Mandatory: Leveraging Affordable Housing to Create Truly Inclusionary Development

11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Advancing Housing Equity Through Design West of Rock Creek Park

1:00 – 2:00 pm: The Seeds of Sustainability, Presented by Sierra Pacific

2:15 – 3:15 pm: Smaller Scale Density: The Challenges in Providing More Housing in Low Density Zones 

3:30 – 4:30 pm: From Blackboards to Balconies: Adaptive Reuse in the Shaw Neighborhood

Keynote Speaker:

Yesim Sayin

Executive Director, D.C. Policy Center

The DC government’s 2019 Housing Initiative set forth a goal of building 36,000 housing units by 2025, a third of which are to be affordable to households earning 80% below Median Family Income. This Order directs District agencies to investigate and implement a variety of approaches to accelerate the design, construction, adaptation, and creation of housing across the city—all while considering the needs of families, an aging population, and other residents with special needs.

Progress toward meeting this goal is well underway, and architects play a significant role in bringing these targets to fruition in a way that best serves people and communities in our city’s built environment.

DesignDC’s Fall conference will focus on the designer’s role, and expertise, in solving DC’s housing crisis. 

You are welcome to submit multiple proposals. Please submit one proposal form for each presentation. Please save your proposal information for your own records in a separate document. 

Priority will be given to sessions that address the following:

• New and innovative technology and materials used for designing and constructing housing
• Integration of different housing typologies in neighborhoods across the city, including historic districts
• Adaptive use and conversions of existing buildings into housing
• Placemaking and planning to ensure housing is attractive and available to all residents of the city, with equal access to amenities and services
• Policy and design recommendations through case studies that illustrate solutions yet to become commonplace in the DC housing market

About DesignDC:

DesignDC is a hybrid experience for our members and design professionals throughout the region. Over two days of content, we will host a featured keynote speaker and a reception, followed by a day of virtual education with industry experts.

Sessions selected from this Call for Proposals will be presented via our online platform on Thursday, September 21, 2023.

All virtual presentations must total 60 minutes in length, with ~50 minutes of instruction followed by ~10 minutes of Q&A.

All presenters will receive complimentary conference registration. Presenters are not required to be members of DesignDC host organizations.

Please save a copy of your proposal information for your records.

Proposals are due by Wednesday, March 15, at 5:00 pm.

Missed DesignDC: The New Historic Preservation? Catch up with on-demand courses!

“Preservation and progress aren’t just compatible, but integral to building stronger communities”

--National Trust for Historic Preservation

As the city and surrounding communities continue to reevaluate the use of and access to space in the built environment, architects and designers are at the forefront of fostering dynamic, equitable places where we live, work, and connect.

DesignDC’s Spring conference will focus on how architects work in historic buildings and neighborhoods in a way that promotes economic and social welfare for all residents, all with an eye on sustainability and resilience.

DesignDC is a hybrid experience for our members and design professionals throughout the region. Over two days of content, we will host a featured keynote speaker and a reception, followed by a day of virtual education with industry experts.

Schedule:

Day One - In Person 

5:30 – 6:00 pm: Welcome Reception

6:00 – 7:00 pm: Keynote Presentation

7:00 – 8:00 pm: Cocktail Reception & Networking

Day Two - Virtual

8:45 am: Opening Remarks by AIA|DC Executive Director Mary Fitch

9:00 – 10:00 am: Designing for Equitable Communities

10:15 – 11:15 am: Changing Neighborhoods with Historic Preservation

11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Past, Present, Future of Langston Terrace: A Dialogue and Vision for the Preservation and Evolution of a Groundbreaking Public Housing Community

1:00 – 2:00 pm: Windows Solutions for Historic Buildings — Presented by Pella Mid-Atlantic

2:15 – 3:15 pm: High Performance, Resilient Construction & Retrofits in Historic Buildings & Districts

3:30 – 4:30 pm: Connecting to the Community

Keynote Speaker:

Nakita Reed, AIA, CPHC, LEED AP BD+C, NOMA

Associate, Quinn Evans

Nakita Reed, AIA, is a true leader at the innovative intersection of historic preservation, sustainability, diversity, and community equity. Through her many volunteer contributions and mentoring initiatives, she has helped dismantle silos between those important topics while demonstrating their deep connections to race and gender. Her work has been critical in encouraging her peers to make a difference in the communities they serve.

“As one of the few licensed Black female architects in the country who is a trained historic preservationist, Nakita is a vocal proponent of sharing knowledge and paving a path for young women of color in the design profession,” wrote Saundra Little, FAIA, in a letter supporting Reed’s nomination for the Young Architects Award. “Her leadership around JEDI [Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion] items within the office has helped shape the way Quinn Evans discusses and engages with these issues both internally and externally.”

Reed is eager to share her wealth of knowledge and regularly does so through emerging media, particularly podcasts. She has been interviewed and featured on nearly 15 podcast episodes throughout her young career, discussing preservation and sustainability in a way that is accessible to the general public. In 2020, as social justice became a prominent topic throughout the U.S., Reed launched her own podcast, Tangible Remnants, to explore the connections between architecture, preservation, sustainability, and race and gender. The title acknowledges the power the built environment has to tell the story of our ancestors. Reed centers her interviews on women and people of color, voices that are often missing from mainstream conversations about the built environment.

Throughout her career, Reed has served on a wide array of professional boards, including the Baltimore Architecture Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historically Black Colleges and University’s Cultural Heritage Stewardship Initiative Advisory Committee, and the Zero Net Carbon Collaboration for Existing and Historic Buildings. She is a vocal advocate to everyone she meets, whether they are fellow architects or preservationists, or homeowners or contractors. As a vital connector, her efforts have forged new relationships among design professionals and have equipped preservationists with a stronger understanding of the importance of sustainability.

Learn to think like an architect by learning the tools of the trade!

This Fall, The Washington Architectural Foundation continues its partnership with ArtReach GW to offer Tools of the Trade.

Classes will be held at ArtReach GW’s studio at THEARC on Wednesdays from 6:00-7:30pm, March 1st through April 26th.

This session is meant for youth in grades 3 - 8.

Learn to think like an architect by learning the tools of the trade! This class is a focus on residential architecture and an introduction to an architect's design process.  Participants will be able to learn the tools of the trade: drawing, photography, and model-building and will be challenged to think of what shelter may look like in their communities in the future.  Classes are taught by design professionals working in DC. Classes will be held at ArtReach GW’s studio at THEARC

This program is supported by:

This Spring, The Washington Architectural Foundation continues its partnership with ArtReach GW to offer Digital Design for Teens.

Classes will be held virtually in partnership with ArtReach GW on Wednesdays from 6:00-7:30pm, March 1st through April 26th.

This session is meant for youth ages 14 to 18.

Digital Design for Teens teaches valuable computer-aided design (CAD)  skills to high school students. Though many high-schools teach similar courses, the Washington Architectural Foundation and ArtReach GW team up to provide introductory education on digital drawing and 3D modeling for architectural, interior design, landscape architecture, civil and mechanical engineering purposes. Students will learn simple techniques they can practice outside of the classroom and apply for internships and educational opportunities. Digital Design for Teens is an excellent asset for any college applicant or job-seeker to have on their resume, and provides insight into the work involved in a modern design career.  Please note desktop computers and laptops are preferred. Tablets are acceptable but not preferred.

This program is supported by:

PURPOSE
The 2023 Unbuilt Washington Awards Program recognizes excellence in unbuilt projects both non-commissioned and commissioned projects. This competition is conducted by AIA|DC independently of other awards programs sponsored by the national American Institute of Architects and other AIA components.

Winners of this year’s competition will be exhibited on AIA|DC website.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Washington UNBUILT design Awards program has a unique role to play in supporting a vibrant intellectual discourse within the design community in the DC metro region. This program bridges the academic and professional communities by providing a forum for recognizing the contributions of both younger and established practitioners alike. Accordingly, the objective of the Awards program is to engage and recognize the broadest possible range of research, conceptual exploration and innovation in design thinking represented in the DC Metro region.

ELIGIBILITY
The program is open to all registered architects, landscape architects, planners, interior designers, associate architects and students in the Washington metropolitan area. The individual(s) submitting a given project must be (a) member(s) of the design team responsible for the work, though not necessarily the head of the team. Projects that have won this award in previous years are not eligible for resubmission.

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES
The awards program is divided into two categories:

Unbuilt Non-Commissioned Projects:
Work without a client commission; e.g. design competitions, student work, hypothetical projects and research-oriented projects.

Unbuilt Commissioned Projects:
Work commissioned by a client: Planning, public space, urban design, buildings, interiors, transportation infrastructure, monuments, public art, or any other project type. There are no typological or geographical restrictions. Projects must not have begun construction by the submission deadline.

Click here for full submission details and requirements.

PURPOSE

The Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and WASHINGTONIAN magazine Residential Design Awards Program recognizes excellence for distinctive residential projects regardless of size or classification.   Projects will be recognized for aesthetic quality, creative response to programmatic challenges, and integration of sustainable features. Public attention and acclaim will be focused on the winning submissions through coverage in the WASHINGTONIAN and ArchitectureDC magazines.  

ELIGIBILITY

The program is open to all registered architects. Projects must be executed residential works of architecture completed after January 1, 2018, and must be located within the Washington DC Standard Metropolitan Area (SMA) as defined below:

• The District of Columbia
• Maryland: Montgomery, Prince George’s, Frederick, Calvert, and Charles counties
• Virginia: Arlington, Clark, Fairfax, Fauquier, Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Warren and Loudon counties; the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park
• West Virginia: Jefferson County

Projects outside the SMA also are eligible if they are second homes for owners whose primary residence is within the Washington, DC SMA.

Entries may be new construction, renovations, additions, or adaptive use and may be single family, multifamily, or mixed- use.  Mixed-use projects are eligible if a minor portion of the work is nonresidential, however they will be judged primarily on their residential quality. Specialized housing, for seniors, dormitories, and emergency shelters to be used after a natural disaster are also eligible.  Accommodation for universal design will be considered.  Projects that qualify for this program are eligible even if they have been submitted to or have won awards in other programs.
 

AWARDS

Submissions are considered in 5 distinct categories:

• General Category: “Award for Distinctive Residential Architecture” for most projects
• Small Projects:  For Distinctive Residential projects with budgets less than $300,000
• Kitchen/Bath:  For exceptional projects limited to kitchens or baths
• Details:  for exceptional details
• Multifamily Housing:  As defined by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), means a project which consists of not less than five (5) dwelling units on one (1) site, each such unit providing complete living facilities including provisions for cooking, eating, and sanitation within the unit and which is not now covered by a mortgage insured or held by the Secretary.

Projects may be submitted in one category only.

Projects will be considered on their own merits regardless of size, cost, or scope as well as on a sound comparative basis. The jury’s decisions will be final.

Click here for full submission details and requirements.

PURPOSE

The Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA|DC) Design Awards Program recognizes excellence in the categories of architecture, interior architecture, historic resources, and urban design/master planning. The program not only demonstrates the value of good design, but also illustrates the wide variety of services performed by architects. It is conducted independent of other awards programs sponsored by the Institute and other AIA components.

ELIGIBILITY

The program is open to all registered architects. The architect submitting a project must be a member though not necessarily the head of the design team responsible for it. Project eligibility depends on the status of the submitting architect as follows:

• Any registered architect who is a member (assigned or unassigned) of AIA|DC may submit any architecture, interior architecture, or historic resource project completed or urban design/master planning project initiated after January 1, 2018

• Any registered architect who is a member of another AIA chapter or who is not a member of the Institute may submit any architecture, interior architecture or historic resource project completed or urban design/master planning project initiated after January 1, 2018, located within Washington, DC.

For architecture, interior architecture, and historic resources, “completed” shall mean “substantially completed” as defined in standard AIA documents governing construction.

For urban design/master planning, “initiated” shall mean a completed or incomplete project, where a significant portion has been completed, implemented, or adopted by a local jurisdiction, authority, institution, or private client. Unimplemented urban design/master planning projects must have an actual, identifiable client and must not be academic projects or competitions.

If a project was given an Award or Jury Citation in the Architecture, Interior Architecture or Historic Resources categories in previous years, it is no longer eligible for a Chapter Design Award. If an Urban Design/Master Planning project was given an award in previous years, that project is no longer eligible to be considered in this or future awards programs. However, individual buildings in an urban design/master plan may be submitted under the architecture or historic resources category if not previously awarded as noted above.

If you have any questions about the eligibility requirements, please contact the AIA DC. AIA|DC shall have the sole authority to verify that eligibility requirements have been met.

JURY

Jennifer Yoos, FAIA, LEED AP 
Adam Yarinski FAIA
Michael Frederick, AIA
Amy Gilbertson FAIA
David Darling FAIA 

Click here for full submission details and requirements.