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The design jury for the twenty-fourth annual Fairfax County
Exceptional Design Awards Program recently selected ten entries to
receive awards for exceptional architectural and site design.
The design awards program is sponsored by the Fairfax County
Board of Supervisors and administered by the County Department of
Planning and Zoning in cooperation with the County Architectural
Review Board and the Northern Virginia Chapter of the American
Institute of Architects. The purpose of the awards program is
to recognize achievement in the total design of a building and site
and to create an awareness of outstanding planning and design
projects among design professionals and the general public.
The awards will be presented in the fall. This year's awards
recipients are:
Honor Award:
The Potomac School - Upper School
Category: Institutional
Architect: cox graae +
spack Architects, Washington, D.C.
Owner/Developer:
The Potomac School
Year Built: 2007
Design Jury Comments:
Of all the award winners, this was the largest and may have faced
the most complex group of problems.
The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia is a K - 12 independent
school on an 87 acre campus. Its Lower and Middle Schools
seemed unrelated to the existing Upper School, located across an
open playing field from the rest of the campus. The design
challenge was to create a significantly larger Upper School campus,
adding two new buildings to the existing Upper School, and, through
landscaping, linking the Upper School to the Lower School campus.
It was also important to provide a new architectural identity for
the Upper School.
The design solution, simply stated, creates a broad terraced
quadrangle bordered on two sides by the new buildings and connected
across the lawn by an elevated glass-enclosed bridge. The
bridge connects and incorporates the existing and new buildings
into a cohesive multi-level complex. One of the remarkable focal
points of this solution is the space where the bridge joins the new
buildings and existing buildings together - creating a multi-use
gathering place named the Crossroads.
Outstanding design solutions, like this, almost always reduce the
most complex problems to simple and clear solutions that are
beautiful and comfortable to use. The jury felt this design
accomplished this with great skill.
Merit Award:
McLean Poolhouse
Category: Residential,
Single-family Detached
Architect: Randall Mars
Architects, McLean, VA
Owner/Developer: Name
withheld
Year Built: 2007
Design Jury Comments:
A unanimous award winner the Jury agreed.
The primary challenge was to design a swimming pool and pool house
for the back yard of a suburban residence on a tight lot without
using all of the available yard. The secondary challenge was to
make these elements and the new landscaping the visual focal point
of the back yard.
The solution was a jewel of a design that seamlessly integrated
the pool, pool house and landscaping into a special retreat. To
answer the problem of conserving space, the design placed the pool
house and pool within inches of each other, and invited the pool to
become part of the pool house when the glass garage door is raised.
Successful small building designs depend on very thoughtful details
– as this design demonstrates so well. Every element of this design
contributes to the beautiful solution, from the simple gable
structure to the understated floor plan, from the deliberate use of
few materials to the stainless steel scupper mounted high on the
wall of the pool house, by which water spills into the pool.
Merit Award:
11415 Isaac Newton Square
Category: Commercial, Office
(interior)
Architect: SHW Group, Reston,
VA
Owner/Developer: SHW Group
Year Built: 2006
Design Jury Comments:
This project transformed existing commercial space into offices
for an architectural firm committed to incorporating the principles
of sustainable architecture. These principles included
recovering materials from landfill, using recycled materials in
doors, frames, lighting, plumbing fixtures, exterior glass systems
and ductwork, and selecting new materials that were made from
recycled materials, in this case interior wall panels and toilet
partitions. Natural linoleum flooring was used, as was wood from
certified forests.
As the Awards Jury recognized, however, selecting environmental
friendly materials is not enough, in itself, to make a good
design.
This creative and successful transformation of existing space
started with re-landscaping a “front yard” to bring more daylight
into the offices. Inside, natural light was introduced into the
existing space through the extensive use of skylights; new
partitions were kept low to share the light; and the structure was
exposed to increase the internal height.
In the end, a dark and awkward space was transformed into a
lively, bright and open place to work, enhanced - rather than
dictated - by the principles of sustainable architecture.
Merit Award:
Fairfax Center Fire & Rescue Station
40
Category: Institutional
Architect: Hughes Group
Architects, Sterling, VA
Owner/Developer: Fairfax
County Board of Supervisors
Year Built: 2006
Design Jury Comments:
This Fairfax County Fire Station, the Jury agreed, touched all the
bases for good design while incorporating the principles of
sustainable architecture.
This station is the largest and most comprehensive emergency
service facility in Fairfax County, housing a fire company as well
as supporting the County’s central Hazardous Materials Unit. In
addition, the station provides quarters for 45 personnel and
includes 5 drive-thru bays, 900 sf training room and 2000 sf of
equipment storage.
With such a complex design program, strong design skills were
required to create a clear and efficient design solution;
that the thoughtful organization of the outstanding interior design
was so ably and attractively reflected on the exterior confirmed
the jury’s opinion that this deserved a merit award. Good
architecture always begins with understanding light. The use
of natural light in this project was masterful. Effectively
introducing natural light into architecture is a basic principle of
sustainable architecture, and creating an inviting place to work is
a matter of no small skill.
Merit Award:
Park Village - Fort Belvoir Family
Housing
Category: Historical
Architect: The RKtects
Studios, Inc. Reston, VA
Owner/Developer: Clark Realty
Capital, L.L.C.
Year Built: 2006
Design Jury Comments:
This was a unanimous award winner, the Jury agreed. Park
Village is one of the four housing villages located within the Fort
Belvoir Historic District, and contains two existing historic homes
which were constructed as temporary housing immediately after WWI.
The architects were presented with the challenge of restoring
the two historic houses to their original post-WWI appearance while
making them the focal point of a neighborhood of 22 new houses on a
new loop street based upon the original street plan of Park
Village. The designers avoided the trap of copying the historic
houses and blurring the difference between historic and new
construction. Instead, a modified craftsman bungalow style, popular
in the 1930’s, was used to make a subtle but clear distinction
between the historic and new. Adding to the success of this project
was the preservation of historic landscape features by carefully
working with the existing topography and saving significant trees.
Once again, we see another project that derives it strength through
conservation and preservation.
Honorable Mention Award:
Lakeview Renovation
Category:
Residential, Single-family Detached
Architect: David
Jameson Architect, Inc., Alexandria, VA
Owner/Developer:
Gabe and Ann Nassar
Year Built: 2006
Design Jury Comments:
This remodeling project - transforming a small former camp house
into a 4500 sf contemporary home - was significantly influenced by
the requirement that the existing house be continuously occupied
during construction. While the floor plans logically gave all the
major living spaces outstanding views of the lake, this sculptural
solution provided some unexpected aesthetic surprises. While
avoiding a monotonous lake side glass wall, the designer was able
to counterbalance the vertical glass tower of the master bedroom
wing with the horizontal glass of the great room wing, making the
spaces inside more interesting as well as improving the appearance
of the house from the lake. This project skillfully combines
saving an older house, transforming it into a home filled with
light and surprises, and maximizing its magnificent views
Honorable Mention Award:
A Slice of Light
Category:
Residential, Single-family Detached
Architect: Susan
Woodward Notkins Architects, PC, McLean, VA
Owner/Developer:
Mr. & Mrs. Hendricks
Year Built: 2003
Design Jury Comments:
In an era of carelessly tearing down older, modestly-sized homes
to replace them with McMansions that can rend the fabric of
friendly neighborhoods, the Jury was especially pleased to commend
this excellent example of client and architect working with less to
create more – in this case, more light, openness and beauty – by
deciding to keep the smallish brick rambler floor plan mostly
intact. Through the skillful use of natural light and sensitive
detailing, the architect was able to demonstrate that a simple but
functional 1970’s floor plan can become a home that feels cheerful,
bright and of the 21st century, full of delight and surprises on
the interior, with subtle but very effective design changes on the
exterior. Though this project does not boast of it’s
sustainable qualities, it meets the first and most important test
of green architecture, which is – basically - does it do the
most with what it has?
Honorable Mention Award:
Midtown North
Category:
Residential, Multi-family
Architect: CMSS
Architects, PC
Owner/Developer:
Kettler
Year Built: 2007
Design Jury Comments:
In the Reston Town Center, which has achieved a vibrant urban feel
in a relatively short time, this multi-story condominium brought a
level of design sophistication to problem-solving rarely seen in
projects of this type. Among the challenges facing the
designer was a requirement that this condominium tower share its
site with a five-story parking garage, and be built over an
underground parking structure. Adding to the difficulty of the
design problem were different height restrictions on the site.
The jury felt that the architects far exceeded their
obligation merely to create an elegant and luxurious condominium by
designing this project to wrap around the 5 story parking garage,
concealing it from sight. The sophisticated design of
the building’s exterior was handled with as much concern for the
views from the street as for the comfort of the condo owners,
representing a win-win solution for the public and the community as
well as for the residents.
Honorable Mention Award:
SF DEsign Group / Chantilly, VA
Office
Category:
Commercial, Office (interior)
Architect: SF
Design Group, Chantilly, VA
Owner/Developer:
Saharnaz Farivar and Esmail Dilmaghani
Year Built: 2007
Design Jury Comments:
The designers of this small interiors project understood a
universal principle of design, which is that the smaller the design
challenge the more important each detail becomes. Working with a
very small, typical industrial office shell, the architects were
asked to incorporate 5 office workspaces, 2 conference rooms and a
reception/waiting space into only 1200 sf. The jury agreed
that not only was the functional problem resolved efficiently with
no wasted space, but that, more importantly, it was done with
elegance and beauty seldom seen in interior spaces of this type.
Honorable Mention Award:
Oakton Library, Oakton, Virginia
Category:
Institutional
Architect:
PSA-Dewberry, Inc. Fairfax, VA
Owner/Developer:
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
Year Built: 2007
Design Jury Comments:
The strengths of this award-winning Library, the jury felt, were
its open and flexible plan and the dramatic use of daylighting
throughout the interior.
Working with a difficult site located between a neighborhood of
traditionally-styled homes and a starkly modern church, the
architects were challenged to design a Library that would
aesthetically bridge these conflicting styles of architecture. By
using materials common to both neighbors and a scale friendly to
each, the Library serves as a homogenous landmark in the community.
Most praiseworthy is the fact that this is one of the first county
libraries to be LEED certified, which will result in a savings to
the operating cost of between $6500 and $10000 per year to the tax
payers.
Names were removed from project nominations and judged by a Review
Committee comprised of representatives of the Northern Virginia
Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (Marlene Walli
Shade and Aaeon Gasper), the Virginia Chapter of the American
Planning Association (Jeni Hornback), the Potomac Chapter of the
American Society of Landscape Architects (Ching-Fang Chen), the
Engineers and Surveyors Institute ( Denis Gulakowski), the Fairfax
County Chamber of Commerce (J. Paul Lewis), the Fairfax County
History Commission (Lynne Garvey Hodge), and the Fairfax County
Architectural Review Board (Robert Wilson Mobley).
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