EPs: Monthly Happy Hour

Our latest Central Virginia EP happy hour was a great success! 😄 This month, we were joined by ELA Alumni who provided wonderful insight on the AIA Virginia ELA program. 

Applications are now open for AIA Virginia Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA) Class of 2026! Complete details on applying for ELA can be found on our website here.

Want to learn more about local opportunities for professional development? Reach out to us with any questions or join our local EP email list: aiacentralva@gmail.com 

⭐️ Central VA Emerging Professionals meet monthly for happy hour, first Thursday of the month. Visit our EP page to see what we’ve been up to.

Applications Open: ELA Class of 2026

AIA Virginia announces call for applications for the 2026 Class of Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA): An Honors Academy of AIA Virginia. 

ELA is an intensive program of educational sessions structured around presentations, discussions, team exploration, analysis, consensus-building, collaboration, and case study activities undertaken over the course of a year by a small cadre of participants (16) selected for their potential to be outstanding contributors to the profession and the community. Along with the all alumni steering and executive committee, facilitators and mentors who are established leaders in the building, finance, non-profit, development, university, legal, consulting, and design professions and in the community at large develop and deliver the sessions, designed to provide participants with advanced knowledge and skills related to specific areas of leadership and practice.

The program consists of monthly, day-long seminars, work sessions, and class project presentations, culminating at a presentation at Architecture Exchange East in November.

The seminars are interactive, drawing on real examples and actively involving participants. They rotate among sites in Roanoke, Charlottesville, Richmond, Alexandria, and Norfolk in conjunction with the firms, schools, and the local AIA component in each area.

Full application and program details, click here.

INFORMATION AND APPLICATION for THe class of 2026

The class project for 2026 will be in Richmond, Virginia, so many sessions and the project workdays will be located in the Richmond area.

How to Apply The committee seeks applicants from three categories:

Component Nominees: Each of the five AIA Virginia local component Boards may nominate one or more individuals for admission to the program. One participant will be selected from each component for a total of five. If interested, please contact your local AIA chapter representative. Each chapter sets its own deadline and application requirements for these positions.

Student Nominees: Any student enrolled in an architecture degree program (UVA, VT, Hampton, WAAC, or JMU) may apply. A maximum of 2 student participants will be selected each year for the class.

Open Applications: Applicants may apply independently or be nominated by someone else. Participants will be selected from among these applicants to fill the class.

★ Component Nominee category due October 22nd 2025.

★ All other application categories are due November 12th 2025.

Full application and program details, click here.

VMDO Architects: AIA Virginia Honors Award Recipient

Congratulations to Central Virginia based firm, VMDO Architects! ⭐️ Recipient of AIA Virginia Honor, T. David Fitz-Gibbon Virginia Architecture Firm Award.

Thank you for your significant contribution to our community and the local profession!

AIA Virginia is proud to announce that VMDO Architects will receive the 2025 T. David Fitz-Gibbon Virginia Architecture Firm Award, the highest honor it bestows on a Virginia-based architecture firm. This prestigious recognition celebrates firms that have made outstanding and sustained contributions to the profession, the community, and the quality of the built environment. VMDO is notably the first-ever two-time recipient of this honor, having previously earned it in 2003.

Founded in 1976, VMDO Architects has offices in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Washington, DC. The firm is known for its unwavering commitment to designing community-centered environments that foster human connection and elevate the human experience. VMDO’s work is deeply rooted in the belief that architecture has the power to educate, inspire, and uplift.

VMDO stands apart in its exclusive focus: since its inception nearly 50 years ago, the firm has dedicated its entire practice to educational and community-focused institutions. Its portfolio does not include private residences, commercial developments, or speculative projects—instead, VMDO channels its creativity and expertise into schools, universities, and spaces that support learning and community.

The firm’s designs have received widespread acclaim, earning international and national recognition from the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education (AIA CAE), the Society for College and University Planners (SCUP), and the Association of College Unions International (ACUI). VMDO’s commitment to environmental responsibility is also reflected in its receipt of two AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten awards, among the most prestigious honors in sustainable design.

To celebrate VMDO’s legacy of excellence and its continued impact on the profession and society, the T. David Fitz-Gibbon Award will be presented during Visions for Architecture on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at the Richmond Downtown Marriott. Tickets will be available starting September 2, 2025, at www.aiava.org.

Valley Social in Harrisonburg

Our chapter hosted a beautiful Valley Social on August 12th — Starting with a time of networking at Pale Fire Brewing, then we enjoyed this week’s concert in Downtown Harrisonburg together! 😊

We discussed topics from puppies to development to traffic engineering. Following our time of networking we celebrated the perfect weather by attending the Harrisonburg Levitt AMP concert featuring, Corey Harris Band. This 10 week free concert series brings the community together in downtown Harrisonburg to celebrate belonging and community life.

Congratulations to the 2025 Virginia Prize Winners!

We are very proud of the students of Central Virginia for their participation and placing as winners for the 2025 Virginia Prize!

AIA Virginia Prize: Held annually by AIA Virginia for architecture students across the state. Students are given one weekend to submit a design solution for the presented brief. 

⭐️ Second Prize: Ethan Turner “King Street Comfort Station” - UVA student

⭐️ Third Prize: Eleanor Dedrick “Go with the Flow” - UVA student

⭐️ Honorable Mention: Kristina Dickey “Tree Toilet” - UVA student

Complete details and information on the 2025 AIA Virginia Prize Competition here.

Emerging Professionals: ELA Alumni Happy Hour

Happy Architecture Week 2025!! 🌟

We had a fantastic kick off with our Emerging Professionals for Happy Hour, joined by Emerging Leaders in Architecture Alumni 🥂

Thank you to the ELA Class of 2025 and alumni for joining us in Charlottesville last Friday! We’re continually inspired by the passion and perspective this program cultivates—and grateful for the connections and conversations that grow through gathering as a community. 

Emerging Professionals: Albemarle Courts Building Hard Hat Tour

Last Friday, our community came together for an insightful tour of the Albemarle Courts building, a central landmark in the heart of Charlottesville. Led by Eric Amtmann, with Dalgliesh Gilpin Paxton Architects, attendees delved into the building’s fascinating renovation history, its master plan, and the intricate design considerations behind the new courtroom layouts.

Looking for more construction administration exposure? Or curious about what's happening in your neighborhood? Contact your local chapter here: aiacentralva@gmail.com

Samuel Sherwood Cleveland

We are sad to report Central Virginia has lost one of their own – Long time local architect, Sam Cleveland. We ask members to share any thoughts or memories on their time spent with Sam. 

Samuel Sherwood Cleveland

(January 7, 1947 - December 9, 2024)

Samuel Sherwood Cleveland died peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Monday, December 9, 2024. Known to his friends as "Sam", he was born on January 7, 1947 in Brownwood, Texas, to Joseph Cleveland and Marguerite Slaughter Cleveland. He was graduated with honors from The University of Texas, School of Architecture at Austin in 1969. During the following six years Sam worked for several prominent architectural firms in Dallas before moving to Charlottesville in 1974

Upon moving to Charlottesville, Sam joined the architectural firm of Jack Rinehart and was the lead architect on the central branch of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library, which formerly had been the Post Office on Market Street in downtown Charlottesville. In the late 1970s, Sam opened his own architectural firm that traced its beginnings to 1979 when Sam and his partner designed and built their first project in Free Union, VA. The success of this first project led to the establishment of a construction company which built many of the private residences designed by Sam's firm. Between 1979 and 2024 Sam Cleveland Architects designed over forty residences in Virginia and as far away as Austin, Texas. Sam received many awards for excellence in design and was known for his meticulous attention to detail and unique understanding of how his clients used the spaces in which they lived. Sam never stopped designing. Even when on camping trips he would scribble drawings on napkins or on his ever-present notepad, while enjoying a glass of wine on the beach at sunset. When he wasn't designing, he loved working on his beloved bright red 1967 MGB roadster which he kept in mint condition. In 2017, Sam and his wife Anne drove the little MGB all the way to Colorado Springs. Just for insurance, the boot was loaded with spare parts but none were needed and they arrived back in Charlottesville safe and sound.

Sam will be dearly missed by his family and all the many friends and colleagues he leaves behind. A celebration of Sam's life will be held in Charlottesville in the spring. In Lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Hospice of the Piedmont at 675 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Charlottesville, VA 22911 or hopva.org.

Complete obituary can be found here.



AIA Virginia PAC 2024 Winners!

Thank you, AIA Central Virginia membership, for contributing to the AIA Virginia PAC and helping us win the PAC Challenge!  With our prize, look forward to some special treats for Architecture Week 2025!

Through the AIA Virginia Political Action Committee, we support candidates who understand the architecture profession. When these candidates win, they bring that understanding to the General Assembly and to issues that are important us and the built environment.

Our policy makers and politicians are the stewards of our built infrastructure. The work that they do impacts the work that we do in so many ways. Every day, they’re called upon to make important decisions that impact the design of our communities — procurement, funding, zoning, transportation, preservation, taxation.

They need our advice. Architects and designers are perfectly positioned to be the authoritative resource for design, building, resiliency, sustainability and related policy issues. If legislators aren’t getting advice from us, they’ll be getting it from someone else.

A strong PAC is critical to our advocacy efforts and is completely funded by donations from members just like you. Remember: membership dues will never be used to support a political candidate. Read FAQs about our PAC giving.