AIA Northern Virginia feted the recipients of its 2004 Design Awards, presented at a gala this summer at the award-winning Discovery Communications World Headquarters in Silver Spring, Md. David King, AIA, SmithGroup, and Jim Williamson, Gensler, discussed the design and development process of the Discovery Communications project and Design Awards Committee Chair Randall Mars, AIA, Randall Mars Architects, and committee member Carolyn Rickard-Brideau, AIA, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, presented the awards.

This year’s jury hailed from Chicago and its environs, and included Chair Jeanne Gang, AIA, principal, Studio Gang Architects; Walker Johnson, FAIA, principal, Johnson Lasky Architects; Avram Lothan, AIA, design principal, DeStefano and Partners; and Dan Wheeler, FAIA, principal, Wheeler Kearns Architects.

Conceptual/Unbuilt Architecture: Special Citation in Recognition for Site Response

Maison Bois Chamois
Suwannee, Fla.
by David Jameson Architect
Jury comments: We really like the elevation drawings here. This has a very good, strong concept. This is a direct response to building in the floodplain. It had a planning strategy that is just terrific.

Historic Architecture Awards of Merit

Capon Springs Bandstand Pavilion
Capon Springs, W.Va.
by Reader & Swartz Architects PC
Jury comments: This project has one of our favorite drawings of the day—it’s just a simple drawing but it shows how people would use the bandstand. They did a good job here, rewarding the client for having the sense to rebuild this structure. The resulting building doesn’t do anything out of context.

Accessible Entry and Cemetery Wall, Lomax AME Zion Church
Arlington, Va.
by DW Ricks Architects + Associates PC
Jury comments: This project preserves the integrity of the existing building. It solves the accessibility problem with an entirely suitable response, where many times access solutions butcher the existing building. If the original architect had been around, he would have done it this way, too. It’s an example of good judgment.

Thomas Balch Library
Leesburg, Va.
by Bowie Gridley Architects
Jury comments: If you weren’t told where the new work was on this, you wouldn’t be able to tell; the transition is invisible. There’s a good continuity of material and scale. It took considerable skill to make the skylight work, giving an indoor/outdoor quality to the space. It’s an appropriate, well-scaled response.

Interior Architecture Awards of Merit

“A Slice of Light,” The Hendricks Residence Addition and Renovation
McLean, Va.
by Susan Woodward Notkins Architects PC
Jury comments: This one lived up to its original idea really well. It stayed true to the light shaft no matter what and it’s very successful because of it. This is a terrific example of a very good idea for very little money.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Bethesda, Md.
by SmithGroup Inc.
Jury comments: This is a very consistent response to the program. The transparency of materials makes it seem larger than it is; we like how the infrastructure is used, but is not brutal.

Interior Architecture Awards of Excellence

COVENANT House Washington Youth Center
Washington, D.C.
by Lawrence Cook Associates PC, and Michael Cook Studio
Jury comments: This design is clever without being slick. The project and design know what they want to be and live up to it. The strength of this design lies in its confidence.

Environmental Defense Fund
Washington, D.C.
by Envision Design PLLC
Jury comments: This project doesn’t hit you over the head with “Design.” It’s an office, not entertainment. It’s not overdone or overwrought. We would like to work in this space.

Green Door
Washington, D.C.
Envision Design PLLC
Jury comments: The pared down nature of the design responds to its environmental sensibility very well. This is really a very nice design using good materials in a smart way.

Residential Architecture: Special Citation in Recognition for Interiors

Sofer Residence
McLean, Va.
by Robert M. Gurney, FAIA
Jury comments: The spaces inside are very nicely done, showing why they go to all of the trouble on the outside. There’s a real fineness to the inside details. The amount of light let into the interior spaces is really pleasant.

Residential Architecture: Awards of Merit

Greenhouse Addition
Washington, D.C.
by Outerbridge Horsey Associates
Jury comments: We like the concept of this house. It’s very aggressively detailed and is quite successful. The massing is a good fit with the existing building.

Nutman Renovation
Chevy Chase, Md.
by David Jameson Architect
Jury comments: This is a small addition, but the detailing is really nice. It’s obvious that a lot of care was taken. Wouldn’t you want to sit in there?

West Barnstable House
West Barnstable, Mass.
by Treacy & Eagleburger Architects PC
Jury comments: The design uses very simple forms but it makes for a very good design solution. This is a very nice presentation, too. You “get” the design easily. The architect stays true to the design on both the interior and exterior.

Residential Architecture: Award of Excellence

Tibetan Resettlement Community
Derahdun, India
by MTFA Architecture Inc.
Jury comments: We like that this project is sustainable. It’s made of local materials and built by local labor. They make the bricks on the site—how much more sustainable can you get? The color of the roofs and the grouping of the buildings remind us of the monks themselves in color and as individuals standing as a group.

Institutional Architecture: Special Citation for Recognition for Sustainability

Langston High School Continuation/ Langston-Brown Community Center
Arlington, Va.
by BeeryRio Architecture + Interiors
Jury comments: It’s nice that this project is LEED certified. We like the consistent sunshading across the building facade. The environmental strategy supports the architecture very well.

Institutional Architecture: Awards of Merit

Saint Bede Catholic Church
Williamsburg, Va.
by Kerns Group Architects PC
Jury comments: This is really nicely done—it’s a good response and has a sense of community and grace about it.

The George Washington University Marvin Center Addition
Washington, D.C.
by SmithGroup Inc.
Jury comments: This is a very solid project. It speaks well to the existing condition. And even though it is a substantial project, it’s well scaled, thought out, and executed.

Institutional Architecture: Award of Excellence

Tae-Joon Park Digital Library
Seoul, Korea
by SmithGroup Inc.
Jury comments: It’s obvious that they sweated the details on this project. The details are very well articulated. This is a really nice program and the resulting design serves it well.

National Air & Space Museum–Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Chantilly, Va.
by Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum PC
Jury comments: What can you say? This is a beautiful project. The architect was smart enough to let the structure lead the design. The structure is the architecture.

Commercial Architecture: Awards of Merit

Capital One Financial Corporation, Headquarters Campus Phase I
McLean, Va.
by Ai
Jury comments: This is a really well-made project. It has an interesting approach sequence; the detailing is very well done. It’s a good sustainable approach and is less invasive to the site.

SAP Labs, Inc.
Palo Alto, Calif.
by HDR Architecture Inc.
Jury comments: This project has a good climatic response, with a good environmental acknowledgement. The tilting of the windows to reduce heat gain is a good measure. As a bonus, it creates terrific exterior spaces. It’s well-tuned to its site, allowing good daylighting into its interiors.

Discovery Communications World Headquarters
Silver Spring, Md.
by SmithGroup, Inc.
Jury comments: The architect designed in a lot of thin elements that allow light into the open area workspace, referencing those in the building to the outside very well. Little slivers of outside views frequently emerge as you pass through the building.

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