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FOUR FEET OF WATER Contributors

Bradley W. Johnson At the end of September, as we were approaching the sixth anniversary Steven K. Dickens, AIA, LEED AP
(“Alley Up,” “Heavenly Stairways,” and
of the opening of the District Architecture Center (DAC), my counterpart
“Wood Cloud”), is senior associate with
in Houston, Rusty Bienvenue, was preparing for the grand opening of
the new Houston Center for Architecture (HCA). Then Hurricane
Eric Colbert & Associates.
Harvey arrived, dumping an incredible four feet of rain on that city.
Along with countless other properties in the area, the HCA construction Peter James, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
site was flooded, scattering carefully stacked building materials all over (“Regilded Age”), is an associate with
the neighborhood and damaging work that had already been completed. Perkins Eastman DC.
On top of all the sadness caused by the images of flooded streets
and wrecked lives in Houston, the news about the HCA site was a Denise Liebowitz (“Living
particular source of heartbreak here at DAC. Six years ago, when we were getting ready to Arrangements”), formerly with
open DAC, I remember worrying about unplanned events that might throw a wrench in the National Capital Planning
our schedule. But I didn’t imagine anything like what happened to Rusty and his almost- Commission, is a regular contributor
completed center, whose opening has now been substantially delayed. The good news, at to ARCHITECTUREDC.
least, is that no one at the HCA site was hurt.
Harvey was but one recent example of how extreme events can affect our lives in sudden Deane Madsen, Assoc. AIA
and devastating ways. The hurricanes that flattened Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands (“Institutional Memory”), is a writer
and damaged parts of Florida, the earthquakes in Mexico, and the fierce, wind-driven fires and architectural photographer based
in Northern California are others. These calamities killed and injured many people, in Washington, DC, and founder of the
destroyed thousands of buildings, and left millions of people without homes, electrical informal architectural appreciation society
power, communications, medical support, and clean drinking water. Brutalist DC.
Welcome! G. Martin Moeller, Jr., Assoc. AIA

(“Commercial Successes” and “Special
Mentions”), is an independent curator
and writer, as well as senior curator at
the National Building Museum. He is
People associated with AIA|DC have contributed to the various recovery efforts, and the editor of ARCHITECTUREDC.
we’re also very proud of our well-known Penn Quarter neighbor, chef José Andrés, who
owns most of the restaurants on our block, for dropping everything and heading to Puerto Ronald O’Rourke (“Best in Field,”
Rico to help ensure that people there are fed. “Breathing Room,” and “Side by Side”) is
All these events make for a challenging context for this edition of ARCHITECTUREDC— a regular contributor to ARCHITECTUREDC.
our annual awards issue, which comes out at this time each year. The awards issue usually His father, Jack O’Rourke, was an
provides an uncomplicated moment of pride and celebration. But the disasters of the last architect in San Francisco for more
few months have introduced new complications—politically, culturally, and architecturally. than four decades.
In particular, these events underscore that smart design isn’t done to win awards, but to solve
Jurors for 2017 AIA|DC
problems. Indeed, architects and architecture aren’t just incidental, but central, to solving
some of our most pressing societal challenges. Awards Programs
Reflecting this, architectural awards are becoming less focused on aesthetics (although
that’s still part of it), and more focused on factors such as affordability, energy efficiency, and
CHAPTER AWARDS
responsiveness to the needs of particular populations. In this issue, for example, DLR Group’s
• Alan Gordon, AIA, NCARB, Snøhetta
John and Jill Ker Conway Residence provides residences for homeless veterans, while HKS’s
• Jack Pyburn, FAIA,
Richmond Children’s Hospital Pavilion gives kids a protected outdoor space that helps them
Lord Aeck Sargent
heal faster. We are especially grateful to our awards jurors who took time out of their busy
• Coren Sharples, AIA, SHoP Architects
practices to come look at our members’ work.
• Weston Walker, AIA, Studio
As we head into the holiday season, I am also thankful to all the people who make this
Gang Architects
magazine possible. Our advertisers and readers, of course, but also the relatively small band of
• Allison Williams, FAIA,
people who help us produce the magazine each quarter: Steve Dickens, AIA, Denise Liebowitz,
AGWms_studio
and Ron O’Rourke have been with us from the beginning and we could not produce this
magazine without their great, and entirely voluntary, efforts. Mary Jane Bolle, Holly Wiencek,
WASHINGTONIAN RESIDENTIAL
and Peter James, AIA, also provided some great stories for us this year. With this issue, we add DESIGN AWARDS
Deane Madsen, Assoc. AIA, to our complement of writers. None of this could get done without • Paul Masi, AIA, Bates Masi
the great editing skills of Martin Moeller, the beautiful design work of Jim Hicks, and the tireless + Architects
ad sales of Jody Cranford. It’s a great group of people to work with. We hope you are thankful • Natalye L. Appel, FAIA, LEED AP,
for many things, as well, this year. Happy Holidays and as always, we love hearing from you. Natalye Appel + Associates Architects
• Jason Forney, AIA, LEED AP,
Mary Fitch, AICP, Hon. AIA Bruner/Cott & Associates
Publisher
WELCOME 5
mfitch@aiadc.com