by Russell Boniface
Associate Editor

Summary: AIA Richmond is pleased to announce the winners of the chapter’s 2008 honor awards, merit awards, and individual awards. The program recognizes design excellence achieved by the chapter’s members. The prestigious jury from Philadelphia—Saul Jabbawy, AIA, Ewing Cole Architects; Richard L. Maimon, AIA, Aracely Coronado Kieran-Timberlake Associates LLP; Mary Werner DeNadai, FAIA, John Milner Architects, Inc.; and John Chase, AIA, Ewing Cole Architects—awarded three honor awards and three merit awards. Additionally, the chapter named the recipients of its individual awards for service.

Honor awards

Project: The Virginia State Capitol Renovation and Expansion
Location: Richmond, Va.
Architect: RMJM Hillier Architecture
“You’ve got to give this project an award,” the jury said. “It is a significant example of scholarly restoration of a major landmark structure. The new rooms in the crytoporticus, in and of themselves, would be an Honor Award winner.”
Photo courtesy of the architect.

Project: Rappahannock River House (Unbuilt)
Location: Deltaville, Va.
Architect: Watershed Architects
“The site plan is interesting, and the floor plan may be the best part of the design,” the jury commented. “The roof terrace is an excellent design move. The overall project has certain ruin-like qualities—expressing the idea of the ruin in the forest. It’s ambitious in its modesty. The west elevation is particularly beautiful. The play of solid and void on the waterfront façade is very strong. This is one of the few projects addressing sustainability overtly in the façade—one of the few truly experimental projects. This project should be rewarded for its ambition—we want to see this built.”
Photo courtesy of the architect.

Project: Virginia Commonwealth University
Location: Richmond, Va.
Architect: BCWH Architects
“We love this little building,” the jury enthused. “There are great moments in the interior, it flows, it’s clean. Simple materials lead to a good composition. It’s very Virginia, but also inflected toward a Modernist expression. The trellises provide an interesting texture. There is a strong plan development, and the site moves are beautiful, with the building deferring to the play fields—an interesting collage attitude.”
Photo courtesy of the architect.

Merit awards

Project: Old Gas Plant
Location: Fredericksburg, Va.
Architect: Beyond Ordinary Boundaries Architecture
The jury said that this adaptive reuse project “retains the character of the original structure; the designer was able to add and subtract without losing the reading of the original building. The inner room is beautiful. This is an interesting sustainable project making very interesting use of materials.”
Photo © Terry Wyllie, AIA.

Project: Page Bond Gallery
Location: Richmond, Va.
Architect: 3North Architects
“The contrast between the lightness of the white truss grid and the solidity of the gray concrete mass is powerful,” the jury noted. “They have taken a very commonplace building—one that is present in our context everywhere—and made something special of it. This is a great example of an excellent design achieved within a limited budget.”
Photo © Kip Dawkins.

Project: Newquay Lane House
Location: Chesterfield County, Va.
Architect: Beyond Ordinary Boundaries Architecture
“This is a Modernist house with very nice materials,” the jury said. “It’s a very creative solution to a challenging project and tight budget. A good composition with excellent interplay between solid and void, with good use of natural light. The plan is well composed; the portfolio was well prepared. The execution of the handrail did not rise to the level of excellence of the overall project.” One juror commented, “I would like this architect to redo my house.”
Photo © Terry Wyllie, AIA.