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Special Mentions
Special Mentions
Chapter President Cites
Six Projects for Distinction by G. Martin Moeller, Jr., Assoc. AIA
Each year, the current AIA|DC chapter president has the opportunity Arlington’s Discovery Elementary School, designed by VMDO
to recognize projects in several specialized categories, including Associates, is the first zero-energy school built in the Washington area,
Sustainable Design, Design & Wellbeing, Universal Design, and and the largest to date anywhere in the country. Encompassing
Urban Catalyst. This year, President Carolyn Sponza, AIA, selected some 98,000 square feet, the school can accommodate up to 650
six projects for citations. Five of them are profiled below; the students in grades pre-K through 5. The architects estimate that the
sixth—Wood Cloud, by Studio Twenty Seven Architecture, which building’s design will save the Arlington school system roughly
was recognized for Universal Design—also won a Chapter Award $100,000 per year based on current utility costs.
and is featured in a separate article. That achievement required the design team to balance energy
conservation measures with carbon-neutral energy production
Presidential Citation for Sustainable Design techniques. To reduce consumption, for instance, highly efficient LED
lighting is used throughout the building, while insulated concrete
Discovery Elementary School walls serve to mitigate heat gain and loss. On the production side,
Arlington, VA the project incorporates geothermal wells along with an impressive
array of 1,706 solar panels, spanning almost the entirety of the
VMDO Associates school’s roof. The plan and massing of the building were carefully
Landscape Architects: OCULUS Landscape Architecture manipulated not only to maximize energy efficiency, but also to
Structural Engineers: Fox & Associates, Inc. reduce the large structure’s apparent bulk within its predominantly
MEP Engineers (mechanical, lighting, net-zero residential neighborhood. In a similar vein, a large roof canopy
energy design): CMTA Consulting Engineers running the length of the building provides additional space for
MEP Engineers (power, plumbing, fire protection): photovoltaic panels while creating a “front porch” that shelters
2rw Consultants, Inc. outdoor activities.
Civil Engineers: Bowman Consulting Group The project is also notable for the ways in which it actively
Traffic Consultants: Toole Design Group engages students and teachers with the architecture. Interior spaces
Cost Estimators: Downey & Scott are widely varied in form, color, and materials, and zoned so as to
Food Service Consultants: EIS, Inc. reflect the expanding curricula and changing learning styles of
Specifications Consultants: SpecGuy Specifications Consultants students as they move up through the school’s grades. The building’s
Construction Managers: HEERY sustainable features are a key component of this strategy, as well,
General Contractor: SIGAL Construction Corporation serving as hooks to encourage children to learn about subjects
such as water conservation, air quality, and even astronomy.
Photo © Alan Karchmer
Architectural Photographer
Dining Commons.
Portico and outdoor play area of the
Discovery Elementary School.
86 SPECIAL MENTIONS Photo © Lincoln Barbour