Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

VMDO Architects Receives Top National Sustainable Design Awards

  • 04/19/17

Charlottesville, Va. – VMDO Architects, an architectural firm specializing in design for educational clients and municipalities, is the recipient of two national awards honoring excellence in sustainable design and practice.

These awards include an AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Award for Discovery Elementary School and a Best of Green Schools Business Leader Award from the Green Schools National Network and the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, co-sponsors of the annual Green Schools Conference.

AIA COTE Top Ten Award – Given annually by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) to the ten best projects worldwide that exemplify the integration of design and performance, the Top Ten Awards program recognizes achievements across the triple bottom line of social, economic, and environmental value. Discovery Elementary School (Arlington Public Schools, Virginia) is a 2017 recipient of a Top Ten Award for its achievement of zero energy design within a child-centric environment that seamlessly integrates design, sustainability, and learning. The largest zero energy school in the U.S., the school offers a positive example of a solution to the global crisis of climate change, and emboldens students to be creative participants in those solutions. The jury offered these comments:

“This project sets a new standard for public schools to achieve net zero energy in a challenging climate and makes excellent design decisions that reduce energy through daylighting and site integration.… In addition to being one of the few net zero energy schools in the United States … the project gives students the opportunity to enjoys hands-on learning around energy-efficiency and generation.”

VMDO Architects and Arlington Public Schools will accept the Top Ten Award at the AIA Conference on Architecture, occurring April 27-29, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. More information can be found at www.aia.org.

Best of Green Schools Business Leader Award – At this year’s Green Schools Conference, which occurred March 21-22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia, VMDO Architects received the top business sector award for the firm’s work pioneering sustainable educational environments where the building itself is a teaching tool. The award was presented by Jenny Seydel, Executive Director of the Green Schools National Network, and Anisa Heming, Director of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council. Anisa Heming offered the following comments:

“VMDO continues to raise the bar in sustainability education and leadership. We believe that every student across the country should have the opportunity to learn in and from a green school environment and VMDO is making that happen in their local community every day. VMDO serves as an inspiration to their peers, and we look forward to being part of and learning from their work.”

Best of Green Schools award honorees include schools that represent the best that 21st century learning has to offer, policy makers who have made sustainability integral to their platforms, and organizations that come together on the national level to advance healthy schools for all. More information can be found at newsroom.usgbc.org.

Featured

  • Wisconsin District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The School District of La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff of two existing schools, according to local news. Funding for the school comes from a $53-million referendum approved in 2024.

  • UT System Approves First Funds for New Campus

    The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently approved funds to build the first facility of a new campus in far west Fort Worth, Texas, according to university news. UTA West will serve as a branch of the University of Texas at Arlington and is scheduled to open in fall 2028.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.