2021 VMDO Leadership Advancements
02.19.21VMDO has announced 2021 leadership promotions, honoring staff contributions which have elevated the firm's professional practice while advancing thought leadership in design, sustainability, client service, and project management.
Community Input Inspires Design of Lubber Run Community Center
12.08.20For each project, VMDO looks beyond textbook design principles and staff expertise, proactively seeking input and engagement from community stakeholders. Think Wood profiles how hard-earned community feedback inpired the design of Lubber Run Community Center
A Trio of State Awards for the Greer Environmental Sciences Center
10.22.20The Greer Environmental Sciences Center at Virginia Wesleyan University has received a trio of notable state awards from AIA Virginia, ASLA Virginia, and ASID Virginia/IIDA Virginia-West Virginia. All three juries highlighted the project's commitment to sustainability in promoting stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay. The building supports the university’s liberal arts mission to engage a diversity of students in applied learning experiences. The building and landscape were designed to embody this mission and facilitate the lessons taught within.
Crozet Elementary School Receives the 2020 AIA Test of Time Award
09.21.20VMDO's Crozet Elementary School is the recipient of the 2020 Test of Time Award from AIA Virginia – an honor that recognizes this humble and transformational public elementary school for its “architectural design of enduring significance” thirty years after its completion.
"Design Should Educate and Uplift": Rob Winstead in ArchDaily on Social Justice and Building Sustainable Futures
07.09.20Shaping the future begins with education. For VMDO Principal Rob Winstead, learning spaces go hand in hand with sustainability. As a nationally-recognized expert in education, Winstead is an advocate for blending thoughtful design with high performance goals. In an exclusive interview with ArchDaily, Winstead talks about his personal background and experiences, as well as his role in shaping how VMDO approaches sustainability, education and social justice.
Students Lead Design-Build Efforts at Virginia Tech CID LLC
07.01.20Students are playing a hands-on role in the development of several key areas in Virginia Tech's new Creativity and Innovation District Living-Learning Community (CID LLC). With VMDO and other university partners, students are helping design the very spaces where they’ll learn, live, and connect as part of the CID LLC.
Strategies for Reducing Risk of COVID-19 in Schools
06.17.20School districts across the country are facing the difficult task of determining if and when K-12 schools will reopen. In an effort to support the health, safety, and well-being of students, the AIA has released 3D models designed by VMDO as well as evidence-based strategies that can assist schools with re-opening.
Discovery Elementary School Named A World Changing Idea by Fast Company
04.28.20A teaching tool for the climate action generation, Discovery Elementary School was selected from more than 3,000 entries as an honorable mention in both the Education and Spaces, Places, and Cities categories in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas program.
Turning Inspiration into Action: Honoring the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day
04.22.20With the stress and uncertainty of this unprecedented moment, who wants to talk about the urgency of climate change? Yet it is precisely now that Earth Day matters most. Today, for the first time in recent memory, there is global awareness that individual health is almost completely reliant on the health of others. This now visceral understanding of our interconnectedness may be the key to finally changing how we live in order to protect not just our health but that of future generations.
2020 VMDO Leadership Advancements
04.17.20VMDO has announced 2020 leadership promotions, honoring staff contributions which have elevated the firm's professional practice while advancing thought leadership in design, sustainability, client service, and project management.
Palmer Park Opens for UVA Softball
04.06.20The University of Virginia's new softball stadium, Palmer Park, opened with enthusiasm in anticipation of a new era for Virginia Softball. “It's transformational for our softball program,” shared Carla Williams, UVA's Director of Athletics. Even though COVID-19 put the 2020 season in the record books, we are excited to support the team again at the park in 2021.
The Case for Public Space
04.03.20Logic would follow that public architecture is at its best when the public can inhabit and commune in its spaces, and not during a pandemic. Yet, it is precisely during these moments when we realize the essential need for accessible spaces that nourish our physical and mental health. As our daily footprint narrows under “stay at home” measures, we can take our appreciation for public spaces and design better sites and structures that provide essential components for community health at a time when we need it the most.
Bluestone Elementary School Named “Most Livable Building” in the U.S.
11.18.19Harrisonburg City Public Schools’ Bluestone Elementary School has received the top Livable Buildings Award from UC Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment (CBE), making it the happiest school in America! Now in its thirteenth year, the Livable Buildings Awards recognize projects that demonstrate high occupant satisfaction, excellent design, and innovative operation strategies.
Honoring Bob Moje, FAIA: AIA Virginia Noland Medal Recipient
11.15.19VMDO Founding Partner Bob Moje, FAIA is the recipient of the 2019 Noland Medal – the highest award bestowed by AIA Virginia to an architect.
Stand with Students: Take Action to Support the Youth Climate Strike on September 20
09.09.19On September 20, young people around the world will strike to demand immediate and transformative climate action. For the first time, they are asking for adults to join them. VMDO is answering that call for solidarity by participating in the Youth Climate Strike and we encourage our fellow design professionals, community members, and families to do the same.
Expanding Our Practice: VMDO Opens DC Metro Office
08.28.19VMDO’s expansion into the DC Metro region allows us to better support our clients, lead the net-zero energy revolution, and make a difference through design.
VMDO Becomes 1st JUST Certified Firm in Virginia
08.23.19The JUST Label offers a framework for building firm-wide accountability and engaging staff in an ongoing dialogue about what it means to be a socially just and equitable organization. VMDO is the first architecture firm in Virginia and the third firm in the Mid-Atlantic to achieve the label.
Sharing Architecture: VMDO Founder Robert Vickery (1932–2019)
08.16.19VMDO founder Robert Vickery passed away on August 10, 2019, surrounded by friends and family. Beloved for his contributions to architecture and teaching, Bob was a prolific writer, mentor to hundreds of architecture students, and consummate practitioner who started VMDO Architects in 1976 alongside three students – Robert Moje, Lawson Drinkard, and David Oakland.
Discovery Elementary School Becomes First School and Third Project to Receive LEED Zero Energy Certification
07.18.19Discovery Elementary School is the first school and third project ever to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Zero Energy certification. Discovery is also the first recipient of the USGBC National Capital Region’s (NCR) Net Zero Award and is the only building in the NCR to date to demonstrate a net-positive energy balance
Designing for Student Health and Wellness
04.25.19Wellness is not the absence of sickness: it is physical, social, emotional, financial, occupational, intellectual, environmental, and spiritual health. As part of the paradigm shift toward a whole-student model of healthcare, institutions of higher education are exploring how their buildings can best support student + staff wellness.
Living and Learning Beyond Boundaries at Virginia Tech
03.18.19What exactly does it mean to live and learn “beyond boundaries”? The Creativity + Innovation District (CID) living-learning community brings together the arts, engineering, science, and design fields to localize innovation within a residential setting that contributes to Virginia Tech's broader global learning community.
Clark Elementary Renovations: Rethinking What a Classroom Should Be
02.13.19This is the story of the Clark Elementary renovations – the first in a series of Charlottesville elementary modernizations transforming classrooms throughout the city.
University of Miami Centennial Village: VMDO Wins Design Competition with Bold Vision for First Year Residential Community
01.08.19The design for a new lakefront residential village is set to transform University of Miami's first year student housing into a modern and eclectic mix of sustainable buildings that will replace the Stanford and Hecht residential colleges.
Reflecting on Our Approach to Architecture
12.21.18As we near the end of the year, we reflect on what we've learned, where we've gone, and what we've accomplished – all while recommitting to core principles that are woven throughout our approach to design.
Two VMDO Projects Honored with 2018 AIA Virginia Architecture Awards
11.08.18AIA Virginia honors Charlottesville's Brooks Family YMCA and Liberty's Concert Hall and School of Music with awards for architecture and interior design, as part of a distinguished pool of 13 merit award recipients.
2018 Promotions and Firm-Wide Accolades
05.24.18Our work comes from many voices. As a firm, we strive to recognize those who help us elevate the quality of our work and evolve our thinking.
Discovery Elementary School Certified as Largest Zero Energy Building to Date
05.02.18Arlington Public Schools' Discovery Elementary School is the largest building of any kind, anywhere in the world to receive Zero Energy certification from the International Living Future Institute.
Two VMDO Projects Honored with 2018 SCUP/AIA-CAE Awards
04.27.18The Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) and AIA Committee on Architecture for Education (AIA CAE) have honored projects at Virginia Wesleyan University and Georgia Tech with 2018 Merit awards.
Clemson’s Honors College: Engaging Students at the Core of Campus
02.05.18Core Campus’ living-learning program has transformed the collegiate experience for Clemson’s highly-ranked Calhoun Honors College. Student surveys report an enhanced sense of belonging and academic engagement through formal and informal interactions with other students and Honors College staff and faculty.
Greer Environmental Sciences Center: An Immersive Science Experience at the Crossroads of Research and Stewardship
01.23.18By facilitating an immersive learning experience, the LEED Gold Greer Center extends beyond its size to encourage a culture of collaboration and connect Virginia Wesleyan University to the ongoing study and stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay region.
This Is Charlottesville Collaboration with Sarah Cramer Shields
11.18.17Sarah Cramer Shield's This Is Charlottesville project documents responses from professionals and community members about their connection to Charlottesville and what makes this a place of resilience, reinvention, and rediscovery.
Design-Thinking with Students as Experts
11.16.17The Discovery Elementary School Seat Design Challenge invited 83 fifth graders to re-imagine the design of furniture to create a novel space in their school. Featuring a host of experts working alongside students and teachers, the maker curriculum covered a 6-month period—from an initial discovery and research phase to a high-intensity 2-week prototyping workshop.
VMDO Principals Reflect on Firm Innovation
09.08.17In an interview with Abode Magazine, VMDO principals Joe Atkins, Joe Celentano, and Wyck Knox discuss VMDO's “three studios, one firm” structure and share what’s currently on the boards.
VMDO Doubles Down on Sustainability
09.07.17VMDO has made a significant commitment to sustainability with the hire of two nationally-recognized experts, Director of Sustainability Michelle Amt, AIA, LEED AP and K12 Studio Leader Rob Winstead AIA, LEED AP BD+C.
Brooks Family YMCA Expresses Mission of Openness
08.24.17Turning the concept of openness into physical reality was a creative delight for the VMDO team who designed Charlottesville's Brooks Family YMCA.
Inaugural VMDO Travel Scholarship Recipient “Takes the Ceiling”
06.29.17Maria Bninski, AIA is the recipient of VMDO’s inaugural traveling scholarship – an annual award that gives promising young designers the opportunity to pursue unique investigations into architectural topics that are of particular interest to them.
Building Dashboard Systems Inspire Student Engagement and Environmental Stewardship
06.21.17An important and lasting link between the built environment and the learning environment at Discovery is a custom-designed, publicly-accessible building dashboard system.
VMDO Partners with Kickoff to Hope to Design Sports Complex in Burundi
05.11.17In the heart of Bujumbura, Burundi lies a city block called the Garden of Hope, which the city recently donated for the development of a public sports complex.
VMDO Receives Top National Sustainable Design Awards
04.19.17VMDO Architects is the recipient of two national awards honoring excellence in sustainable design and practice, including: an AIA Top Ten Committee on the Environment 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.
Young Harris Campus Center Wins 2017 ACUI Facility Design Award of Excellence
03.29.17Young Harris College’s Rollins Campus Center and Zell + Shirley Miller Library was recognized as one of five awardees of a Facility Design Award of Excellence at the 2017 ACUI conference.
Embracing Digital Acoustics in Performing Arts Spaces
03.02.17The performing arts are increasingly relying on advances in digital acoustic architecture to support different performance needs within one transformative venue.
Education By Design: Challenging the Traditional Definition of a Learning Space
02.22.17Net zero energy use, flexible furniture, barn door walls, grab-n-go mobile food carts, and indoor slides. Meet the New Public School.
Revitalizing Lynchburg City Stadium
02.20.17The City of Lynchburg was interested in solutions for bringing the stadium up to current standards while retaining the original charm and the architectural integrity of the stadium.
Connecting Theory and Practice: The ISpace at ODU
02.17.17Working with Dr. George Fowler, the University Librarian at Old Dominion University, we've had the opportunity to co-create a spatial typology that expresses the essence of the library at public research universities.
The First of Its Kind – Liberty’s School of Music and Concert Hall
11.15.16When asked to help create a new home for this central part of Liberty’s curriculum, we decided it was an opportunity to make a truly innovative building that would showcase the incredible range of ways music resides within Liberty’s unique academic setting.
VMDO Attends Library Journal Design Institute Fall 2016
11.04.16VMDO recently attended Library Journal’s Fall Design Institute in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Future Classroom – One Size Does Not Fit All
10.11.16Today’s college classroom is changing. Technology, and its breathtaking ubiquity on campuses, is forcing administrators to either adapt obsolete facilities to the demands of the digital age or to build new classrooms that incorporate the infrastructure to support countless screens, projectors, smartboards, cameras, speakers, and the like.
21st Century Academic Libraries – Balancing Content and Space
10.05.16Academic libraries are applying an innovative approach to knowledge creation, curation, and sharing that places the user front and center.
VCU’s Basketball Development Center Recognized as Best Project of 2016
09.30.16”‹VCU’s Basketball Development Center was recognized by the ENR MidAtlantic Region as the Best Sports/Entertainment Project of 2016.
Discovery Elementary School Receives International Architectural Award
09.27.16Discovery Elementary School was named a 2016 Project of Distinction by the Association for Learning Environments!