The Washington Architectural Foundation is pleased to announce the Fall Design Fête will take place at the National Cathedral on November 8, 2023. This event will celebrate our community and honor several worthy individuals and programs that have made Washington a better place through their contributions as designers, advocates and clients.

This year’s Fete will include a cocktail reception and seated dinner with a program.  Along with celebrating the contributions of these worthy individuals, the Fall Design Fête supports the Washington Architectural Foundation’s education and community outreach programs. Thanks to wonderful sponsors like you, the Foundation can better meet its mission to share the power of architecture to transform community.

Please join us in celebrating this year's honorees:

Anna McCorvey, RA, LEED AP BD+C
2023 John ‘Wieb’ Wiebenson Award Winner for Architecture in the Public Interest.

Caitlin Brady, AIA, LEED BD+C
&
Mika Naraynsingh, AIA, LEED BD+C
2023 Emerging Architect Award Winners

Anica Landreneau, Assoc. AIA 
2023 Partnership for the Planet Award

and

Amy Weinstein, FAIA
2023 Centennial Medal Winner for distinguished service
to the Chapter, community, and profession.

Thank you to our sponsors:

Cornerstone Sponsor
AECOM

Bar Sponsor
Interface Engineering

Corbel Sponsors
American Institute of Architects
Barnes Vanze Architects
Bonstra|Haresign Architects
Clark Construction Group
David M. Schwarz Architects
HOK
Page/
Quinn Evans Architects
SGH
Smithgroup
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company

Cocktail Sponsor
Perkins&Will

Music Sponsor 
Michael J. Armstrong 

Dessert Sponsor
DLR Group

Keystone Sponsors
Arcadis
ARUP
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners
Building Bridges Across the River
Fentress Architects
Hartman Cox Architects
HGA
HKS
Lee & Associates, Inc. 
MV+A Architects
Perkins Eastman
Walter P. Moore
Winstanley Architects and Planners

Quoin Sponsors
Ames & Gough Insurance/Risk Management
Ayers Saint Gross
CGS Architects
Cunningham Quill Architects
Davis Construction
Delon Hampton
EskewDumezRipple
Mary Fitch 
Gensler 
Grunley Construction Company
Hickok Cole
Lam Partners
Lee/Shoemaker
David Metzger, FAIA
MKSK
Neumann Lewis Buchannan
OEHME, VAN SWEDEN | OvS
Shalom Baranes Associate Architects
Wyn Design Company

Become a Sponsor

Join AIA|DC and the Clara CFO Group for a seminar on how to manage and increase cash flow - all examples have been specifically tailored for architects. In 60 minutes, Clara CFO Group will cover the most important aspects of predicting cash coming in and out for small businesses, tips to accelerate cash collections, ways to anticipate cash needs better, and pay yourself more!

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how your business model affects cash flow  

• Discover best practices in A/R & billing to increase cash flow 

• Get tips for slowing cash going out the door 

• Learn the importance of a cash flow forecast and how to use it to make decisions  

• Learn how to identify cash flow red flags and take action BEFORE there is a problem! 

Presented by:

Hannah Smolinski, CPA

CEO & Founder, Clara CFO Group

Laura Shiel, CPA, CFA

Virtual CFO, Clara CFO Group

Hannah and Laura have a combined 30+ years of experience in the Accounting and Finance industry providing financial expertise to the small business community through financial strategy, best practices, and knowledge to help companies achieve their missions. Clara CFO Group provides virtual CFO and consulting services, financial strategy and educational resources. Check out The Clara CFO YouTube channel for information to help run your small business for long-term financial success!

David Rubin, founding principal of DAVID RUBIN Land Collective will lead a walking tour of the National World War I Memorial / Pershing Square Revitalization and Franklin Park, both of which have recently completed substantial renovation.

First on the tour, Land Collective was selected by the United States World War I Centennial Commission to assist with the strategic insertion of the National World War I Memorial into Pershing Park, a historic modernist park originally designed by Paul Friedberg, located within the Monumental Core of the nation’s Capital. Through a rigorous agency review process, the design gradually took shape while the team found the balance between the historic preservation of a culturally significant urban park and the creation of a National Memorial befitting one of the four major wars of the 20th century.

The tour will continue with an approximately 10-minute walk, five blocks to the north along 14th Street NW to the second stop at Franklin Park. The revitalization of historic Franklin Park in downtown Washington, DC, is the first-ever joint venture between the National Park Service (NPS), the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID), and the Department of General Services (DGS). The urban square was created in the 1800s to protect the primary water source serving the White House. Improvements to the park include a re-imagined historic fountain with new engaged expressions of water, improved seating, urban reforestation, on-site stormwater management, a natural play area, a green roof pavilion created in partnership with STUDIOS Architecture.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key elements and programming relating to revitalization and reimagining of urban parks.
• Describe how urban parks can address complex issues relating to resilience, equity, and commemoration.
• Identify challenges as well innovative design solutions utilized within the historic Franklin Park and the National WWI Memorial / Pershing Square Revitalization.
• Describe how urban parks can play a vital role in preserving and strengthening local communities, culture, and heritage.

Presented by:

David A. Rubin, PLA, FASLA, FAAR

David A. Rubin, PLA, FASLA, FAAR is the founding principal of DAVID RUBIN Land Collective, a landscape architecture, urban design, and planning studio committed to practicing socially-purposeful design. David’s visionary contribution to the field in “empathy-driven design” is a hallmark of the studio, earning increasing renown for fusing issues of social justice in cities with excellence in the design of public spaces. His projects have received awards and honors from the American Society of Landscape Architects and the American Institute of Architects, among others. David was recently appointed by the State Department to The Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO) Industry Advisory Group to advise the U.S. government on best practices in landscape architecture.

Sponsored by:

Join LA.IDEA in supporting Liberty's Promise, one of our longest-term outreach partners of over 8 years. Together, we have been promoting the field of architecture among high schoolers in the DMV. This time our primary goal is to raise funds through a live auction in an afternoon of fun and discovering unique pieces.

Overview

As the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) has evolved, so has individuals’ approach to preparing and studying for this milestone moment in one’s career. Supporting all paths to licensure is important in the advancement of one’s career as well as the architectural profession. The David J. Varner Paths to Licensure Program strives to make a significant contribution to an individual’s ability to achieve licensure by offering coaching, and a network of resources to inspire and motivate individuals to navigate and pass their exams, and then celebrate this important career milestone with an annual networking event. ​Commencing in September 2023, the eight-month program consists of six evening sessions, each tailored to enhance the selected attendees’ ability to study and pass the ARE. In March/April 2024, an event will celebrate the participants of the Paths to Licensure Program and all recent DC licensees.

Applicant Information

Attended by a select group of up to 10 emerging professionals, prospective participants will go through an applicant selection process. Proven career success, commitment to the profession, and the individual’s desire to achieve licensure will be evaluated.

Applications for the Inaugural Class of 2023 are open now!

Application Deadline: July 15th

Honoring David J. Varner

David J. Varner, FAIA, an active member of the Washington, DC, architectural community, died unexpectedly in November of 2021. David was a firm believer in the value of an integrated design process that embraces clients, stakeholders, communities, and myriad partners to help make this possible. As a member of the AIA College of Fellows and as the Office Director for SmithGroup’s Washington DC office, David was also a firm believer and an advocate for Architects being of greater service to society in as many forms as possible. David had a curiosity for life including travel, history, and the built environment. In memory and honor of David, the David J. Varner Paths to Licensure Program will inspire participants’ curiosity, commitment to lifelong learning, and connection to the AIA community.

Business Development for Dummies…and Architects: this 2-event series focused on the critical components of business development to help mid-career architects advance to the next level of firm leadership.

Event Two includes a Panel Discussion and Happy Hour focused on our clients’ process of selecting an architect. The panel features owners, developers, and brokers who will share their decision making process when selecting architects. Learn how they develop their short-lists for RFP’s and what drives them to making their final decisions.  We encourage all attendees to invite an industry colleague from the client side to attend a Networking Happy Hour after the panel so you can begin practicing your newly learned business development skills!

Moderator:

Jordan Goldstein – Firm Co-Managing Principal of Gensler

Panel:

Amy Bowser – Executive Vice President, Brokerage - CBRE

David Toney – Senior Vice President of Development - Akridge

Michelle Dandeneau – Managing Director, Strategy, Real Estate Development, Design/Construction Management - JLL

Business Development for Dummies…and Architects: this 2-event series focused on the critical components of business development to help mid-career architects advance to the next level of firm leadership.

Event One examines how architecture firms strategize to win work. We start with keynote speaker and Business Development Professional Carol Duke (DLR) who explains the basics of BD. Next, our panel of architects discuss their tips to build and engage your network, work to your personality strengths in a professional setting, and share stories of their own business development experience.

You’ll leave the event more confident and prepared to venture into business development on behalf of your firm. Join us for Event Two which will focus on the client perspective of business development.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore strategies that current practitioners utilize for business development
• Identify networking skills for anyone, introvert or extrovert.
• Recall successful client stories that were the outcome of the development of relationships.
• Summarize how attendees can create opportunities for business development in their practice and current networks.

Keynote Speaker & Moderator:

Carol Duke Assoc. AIA - Principal, Cultural + Performing Arts - DLR

Panel:

Emmett Ahearn, AIA - Director, Government & Institutional Practice - WDG

Erin Carlisle, AIA - Principal - STUDIOS

Rob Holzbach, AIA – Principal, Director of Commercial Office – Hickok Cole

Elizabeth Emerson, AIA - Principal and Co-Founder – EL Studio

"Architecture is a turbulent form of practice, and we battle the forces that shape it as well as those that allow it to exist." Rael San Fratello

Featured in the National Building Museum's exhibition The Wall/El Muro: What is a Border Wall? Ronald Rael, Principal Rael San Fratello, is a design activist, author, and thought leader of additive manufacturing, borderwall studies, and earthen architecture. His research connects indigenous and traditional material practices to contemporary technologies and issues. Along with partner Virginia San Fratello, Rael's audacious and imaginative practice explores the frontiers of technology, material, and tradition. 

Ronald Rael's lecture will be followed by a conversation around innovations at the intersection of natural construction and new technologies with Tonya Ohnstad, Assistant Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies at Catholic University's School of Architecture and Planning.

The exhibition will be on view before and after the lecture.

Program Schedule:

Doors Open — 5:30pm

Program Starts — 6:00pm

Lecture — 6:00-7:00pm

Conversation + Q&A — 7:00-7:30pm

Complimentary Wine & Charcuterie — 7:30-8:00pm

Spotlight on Design is generously supported by the Anthony and Keiko Greenberg Foundation.

Fenestration openings are a critical component of the building envelope, especially in today's sustainable, energy-efficient buildings. Join us to discuss the impact of exterior insulation on fenestration installation design. Alongside industry experts, you'll get a chance to explore solutions for a wide variety of wall system variations.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the benefits of exterior insulation in modern wall assemblies.
• Explore the variations in exterior insulated wall assemblies.
• Refresh your expertise on the requirements of all window installation systems.
• Discover and evaluate options for meeting the requirements for proper window installation in exterior insulated walls.

Presented by:

Fallon Williams

Commercial Architecture Consultant, Pella Mid-Atlantic

Organized by:

Pella Mid-Atlantic

Pella Mid-Atlantic is a specialist in senior living, multifamily, education and hospitality projects. With more than 85 years of experience working with architects, general contractors, building owners and developers, we are able to find solutions for your most complex projects. By working with your team in the early stages of construction we are able to assist in the integration of Pella products in your building. Our in-house engineering team works directly with your project team in order to create solutions that not only meet the performance requirements and aesthetics of the building but also come in under budget.

This event is organized by AIA Potomac Valley.

Join us for a lunchtime presentation hosted by TW Perry at their Silver Spring showroom. A box lunch will be offered from 12:00 – 12:30 PM with the course presentation from 12:30 – 1:30 PM.

Integrating interior and exterior spaces has been shown to provide occupants with myriad benefits in a variety of settings. Establishing a connection with the outdoors can improve health and wellbeing for occupants at home or in the office, as well as encouraging healing and reducing stress. In retail settings, connections with nature have been shown to increase consumer spending, and in any environment, views and sounds of nature have proven to reduce stress and enhance concentration. Folding, multi slide, and swing door systems lend themselves to occupant wellbeing by integrating interior and exterior spaces and seamlessly providing controllable access to nature.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the ways in which the human connection to nature and integrated interior and exterior spaces can contribute to occupant wellbeing, including the roles of light, color, air, and sound.
• Assess the applications and material selection of folding, multi slide, and swing door wall systems and the ways in which they contribute to the human connection to nature and integrated spaces, including when designing for residential, restaurants, retail, resort, hospitality, and institutional applications.
• Understand the style, function, and performance of folding, multi slide, and swing door wall systems.
• Examine case studies that exemplify the role of door systems in connecting people to the outdoors and creating integrated interior and exterior spaces.

Presented by:

Ken Clark

Director of Architectural Business Development, TW Perry

Organized by:

AIA Potomac Valley

Capital Area CRAN, a tri-chapter committee founded jointly by AIA|DC, AIA NoVa, and AIA PV