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Home / News / Montgomery County Planning Department and Potomac Valley AIA Will Hold Design Excellence Award Program on October 20

Montgomery County Planning Department and Potomac Valley AIA Will Hold Design Excellence Award Program on October 20

Developers, architects, landscape architects, designers, property owners and community members are invited to attend the Celebrate Design reception and awards event at the Silver Spring Civic Building

SILVER SPRING, MDThe Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is inviting everyone with an interest in excellent architecture, landscape architecture and urban design to attend Celebrate Design on Thursday, October 20, 2016 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Silver Spring Civic Building (1 Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring, MD).

The winner of the Planning Department’s second annual Design Excellence Award competition will be announced during the celebration, which will also include the annual awards ceremony of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Potomac Valley Chapter. One of the highlights of the evening will be the presentation, titled “Design Excellence: Lasting, Comprehensive and Inspirational,” given by architect Edward Feiner, FAIA. Feiner is the Design Leadership Council Director of Perkins + Will and former Chief Architect of the United States General Services Administration, who launched a design excellence program for federal architecture.

The Planning Department’s annual Design Excellence Award seeks to recognize exceptional work in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design that has been completed in Montgomery County over the past decade. More than 20 entries to the competition have been submitted by architects, developers and property owners. The goal of the awards program is to promote top-notch design and improve the quality of the built environment throughout the County.

The winner will be selected in September by an outside jury of accomplished professionals in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design. The 2016 jurors are:

-Elinor Bacon of ER Bacon Development in Washington, DC.

-Shalom Baranes of Shalom Baranes Associates Architects in Washington, DC.

-Stephanie Bothwell of Stephanie Bothwell Urban and Landscape Design in Washington, DC.

-Yolanda Cole of Hickok Cole Architects in Washington, DC.

Review the bios of the jury.

 

Celebrate Design Awards Ceremony
Thursday, October 20, 2016
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Silver Spring Civic Building (1 Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring, MD)
Ticket price: $35
Purchase tickets.

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Opening  reception.

7:30 – 8:45 p.m. Awards presentation by the AIA Potomac Valley and the Montgomery County Planning Department.
Featured Speaker: Architect Edward Feiner, FAIA, of Perkins + Will.

8:45 – 9:30 p.m. Dessert reception.

Purpose of Design Excellence Award

In June 2015, the Department launched its first Design Excellence Award program to achieve the following goals:

-To recognize the best examples of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design in the County, and increase public awareness of this world-class design excellence.

-To promote built work that contributes to the creation of pedestrian-oriented, walkable neighborhoods that enrich and contribute to the greater community.

-To show how physical design can lead to greater health, economic opportunity and environmental sustainability.

Learn more about the Montgomery County Planning Department’s Design Excellence initiative.