Advocacy Advisory Council
2026-02-10 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-03-10 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-04-14 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-05-12 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Virtual Meeting
The Advocacy Advisory Council is responsible for reviewing, advising, and coordinating activity in the broad area of government affairs, whether on legislative, regulatory, code, or other issues at the state level.
For information on this advisory council or any other council or committee, contact Paul Battaglia, AIA or email info@aiava.org

J.E.D.I. Committee Meeting
2026-02-18 15:00 - 16:00, 2026-03-19 09:00 - 10:00, 2026-04-16 09:00 - 10:00, 2026-05-21 09:00 - 10:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
The AIA Virginia Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (J.E.D.I.) Committee promotes diversity within the profession and the association by developing implementable strategies to help serve and support more diverse and inclusive audiences.
See our recommended EDI Resources here>>
For more information or to serve on this or any other AIA Virginia committee, contact Cathy Guske or email info@aiava.org.

VA COTE Building Tour: Sadler Center at the College of William and Mary
2026-02-19 16:00 - 17:00 | Sadler Center, 200 Stadium Dr., Williamsburg, 23186, United States
Join AIAVA COTE and USGBC for our 2026 building tour series! We wish to celebrate exciting and innovative sustainable building design around the Commonwealth. Each month we will focus on a project in one of the five AIA Virginia component areas that has achieved LEED or other sustainable certification. Tours will provide AIA and USGC CEU’s for participants.
The addition to the Sadler Center at the College of William and Mary realizes the College’s vision for a “Student Life Neighborhood” at the heart of campus, consolidating 11 student affairs departments into a single, high-performance building for students and staff. The design process and building itself aimed to foster ownership and agency among students, truly creating a “student building.” Sustainable design elements such as an overhang shade system along the addition’s southwestern-exposed curtain wall, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and radiant ceilings for heating and cooling create a healthy and comfortable interior environment for occupants that also further the College’s goals for longevity and developing a bright future for their students.
1 AIA LU | HSW
1 GBCI LU
AIA Member: $15
USGBC Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
Students: FREE
Register Here>>
*Registration closes at 3:00pm on 2/19.

Board of Directors Meeting
2026-02-20 08:00 - 17:00 | Richmond TBD
Regular meeting of the AIA Virginia Board of Directors.

Annual 2026 Historic Resources Committee Retreat
2026-02-21 11:00 - 16:00 | Victory Hall, 401 Valley Street, Scottsville, 24590, United States
Join AIA Virginia’s annual Historic Resources Committee (HRC) retreat happening in Scottsville. The half-day event will start off with a welcome by Scottsville Town Councilor Molly Angevine and then an introduction about Scottsville’s long history and a tour by Lincoln Lewis. Currently, Lincoln is assisting the Town of Scottsville’s Planning Commission to update their Comprehensive Plan. He is also the University of Virginia’s Climate Equity Doctoral Fellow focusing on how communities – especially those with historic cultural assets – plan for the future amidst dynamic environmental change. Lincoln is an AIA International Associate Member licensed in Singapore and was recently awarded the Larson Award from the American Planning Association as Virginia’s distinguished professional planner for his work with Scottsville.
Stops on the tour will include significant buildings along Valley and Main street, the Thacker Levee along the James River, and Canal Basin Square. A lunch stop during the tour will be at Tavern on the James. An overview will be given about the town’s architecture and planning history and current comprehensive planning processes. Also, reflections will be shared about how the town’s historic assets have been considered in the planning process, such as the Kanawha Canal system or WWII-era Tire Cord Plant.
After the tour, the HRC will have a workshop to discuss the committee’s previous year of activities and chart the way forward for this year. All are welcome to attend and also join the HRC’s monthly online meetings, tours, and events.
About Scottsville
Scottsville, Virginia was first settled in 1744 along the historic horseshoe bend of the James River. Scotts Landing served as the first county seat for an expansive Albemarle County that gradually became parts of five counties. Over time, several presidents of the United States have frequented Scottsville and the region’s rural roads. At the turn of the 18th century, Scottsville became an important stop on the Kanawha Canal and the town was incorporated in 1818. The town still hosts an important stop on the annual James River Batteau Festival.
However, the benefits of the river have also caused a great deal of hardship for the town, including multiple historic floods devastating the architecture of downtown. The Thacker Levee was constructed in the 1980s to protect the town. In 1994, the town’s boundary was significantly expanded beyond its early footprint in the river lowlands to incorporate upland farms, pastures and forests. This expansion has presented several opportunities for the town, while also raising important long-term planning challenges. Today, Scottsville uniquely sits in both Albemarle and Fluvanna counties, and is the only incorporated town in both of those counties. The town also serves as an important rural hub for Buckingham County. A great deal of Federalist Architecture is retained in Scottsville’s Historic District and important homes also contribute to the Southern Albemarle Rural Historic District. Recently, the Tire Cord Plant was added as a historic district and has been the topic of intense discussions regarding the site’s prospective adaptive reuse.
Agenda for the Day:
11:00am Gather at Victory Hall town offices; welcome by Scottsville Town
Councilor Molly Angevine; presentation about the town by Lincoln Lewis
11:30am Begin walking tour along Main Street to the Thacker Levee along the James River and Canal Basin Square
12:00pm Lunch at Tavern on the James (www.facebook.com/TavernOnTheJames/)
1:10pm Tour continues
1:30pm Workshop
2:30pm Coffee break
4:00pm End of meeting
Please sign up here if you’d like to attend the retreat. Thanks!

Firm Size and Non-Traditional Member Roundtables
2026-02-25 12:30 - 13:30 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Join your peers to discuss the issues and trends in your firms or non-traditional practice.

Small Firms (1-10 employees)
Mid-Size Firms (11-49 employees)
Large Firms (50+ employees)
Non-Traditional – you don’t work in an architecture firm

Register>>
FREE | on Zoom
1 LU|Elective

Member Services Advisory Council
2026-02-26 15:30 - 16:30, 2026-04-01 09:30 - 10:30, 2026-05-06 09:30 - 10:30 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
The Council is responsible for the delivery of exceptional services to the membership, which in return, influences membership growth. Goals and strategic planning are executed to increase diversity and inclusion within the profession, engage state universities, and ensure that the AIA Virginia membership pipeline is consistently being nurtured.
For information on this advisory council or any other council or committee, contact Cathy Guske or email info@aiava.org

Career Stage Member Roundtables
2026-03-04 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Join us for our Career Stage roundtables to discuss issues that are important to you!

Emerging Professionals
Mid-Career Professionals
Late-Career Professionals

Free
1 LU|elective
Register>>

PAC Board of Trustees
2026-03-17 14:30 - 15:30, 2026-05-19 14:30 - 15:30 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
To stimulate persons engaged in the practice of architecture, their employees and others with similar interests to take a more active and effective role in governmental affairs. To solicit and receive from persons engaged in the practice of architecture, their employees and others with similar interests contributions into a fund to be used to assist candidates for public office who support the profession of architecture.
For information on this Board of Trustees or any other advisory council or committee, contact Paul Battaglia, AIA or email info@aiava.org

Gerdau Steel School and Mill Tour
2026-03-24 10:00 - 15:00 | Gerdau Petersburg, 25801 Hofheimer Way, Petersburg, 23803, United States
Join the American Institute of Steel Construction for an exclusive Gerdau Steel School and Mill tour specially designed for architects. This unique event provides a firsthand look at the steel manufacturing process through an informative briefing and a guided walking tour, allowing you to witness the creation of the materials that form the backbone of our built environment. Gain invaluable insights into steel crafting, enhancing your understanding and application in future projects.
Lunch will be provided.
4 AIA LU | HSW
AIA Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
Students: FREE
Register Here>>
*Registration closes at 5:00pm on 3/19.
Schedule
9:00-9:45 am: Arrival and mingling
9:45 am: Distribution of Personal Protective Equipment
10:00 am: Safety Briefing for Plant Tour
10:30 am – 12:00 am: Tour of Melt Shop and Rolling Mill
12:00 am – 1:00 pm: Lunch
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Presentations and Q&A

VA COTE Building Tour: Highland Springs High School - Built for Performance
2026-03-26 09:30 - 10:30 | Highland Springs Highschool, 200 S Airport Dr, Highland Springs, 23075, United States
(Photo credit: Maylone Photography)
Join AIAVA COTE and USGBC for our 2026 building tour series! We wish to celebrate exciting and innovative sustainable building design around the Commonwealth. Each month we will focus on a project in one of the five AIA Virginia component areas that has achieved LEED or other sustainable certification. Tours will provide AIA and USGC CEU’s for participants.
Join us for a tour of LEED Gold Highland Springs High School, located in eastern Henrico County, and experience how thoughtful design and public investment can deliver measurable energy, health, and community benefits. The building features an on-site solar PV array contributing to 54% whole-building energy cost savings, supported by building-level energy metering, demand-response participation, and comprehensive commissioning of building systems and envelope. A strong emphasis on indoor environmental quality—including MERV-13 filtration, low-VOC materials, construction IAQ management, acoustic performance targets, and occupant thermal and lighting controls—supports healthier, more productive learning environments. The project also showcases smart site reuse, reduced water use, dark-sky compliant lighting, waste reduction, and material transparency, offering a replicable model for cost-effective, resilient, and community-focused public school design.
1 AIA LU | HSW
1 GBCI LU
AIA Member: $15
USGBC Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
Students: FREE
Register Here>>
*Registration closes at 12:00pm on 3/25.
*Attendees must bring identification and check in at the front office to obtain a VISITOR badge

Design Awards Submissions Open
2026-04-15 08:00 - 17:00
Design Awards | Awards for Excellence

Honors Nominations Open
2026-04-15 08:00 - 17:00
AIA Virginia Honors

Board of Directors Meeting
2026-04-17 08:00 - 17:00 | Varina Library, 1875 New Market Road, Henrico, VA, 23231, United States
Regular meeting of the AIA Virginia Board of Directors

VA COTE + USGBC Building Tour: Harvesting the Elements: How The Nature Conservancy Harnessed the Sun, Water and Plants
2026-04-23 15:30 - 16:30 | Nature Conservancy, 4245 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, 22201, United States
Join AIAVA COTE and USGBC for our 2026 building tour series! We wish to celebrate exciting and innovative sustainable building design around the Commonwealth. Each month we will focus on a project in one of the five AIA Virginia component areas that has achieved LEED or other sustainable certification. Tours will provide AIA and USGC CEU’s for participants.
Join us on April 23rd for a tour of The Nature Conservancy’s 8-story office building in Arlington, VA where systems were upgraded including increasing air-tightness of exterior envelope, capture of waste heat, air scrubbers and monitoring system via cloud based building management. Photovoltaics, a green roof and a cistern to collect rainwater to reduce stormwater runoff also contributed to the 50.2% reduction in energy consumption.
1 AIA LU | HSW
1 GBCI LEED Specific BD+C and LEED Green Associate CE
AIA Member: $15
USGBC Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
Students: FREE
Register Here>>
*Registration closes at 12:00pm on 4/22.
*Attendees must wear closed toed shoes

Virginia Design Forum XVII: Against the Grain
2026-05-01 13:00 - 2026-05-02 16:30 | Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg, 24061, United States
Registration is now open for Design Forum XVII!
Please join us for the upcoming Design Forum XVII on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. You will hear from Marlon Blackwell, FAIA (Marlon Blackwell Architects), Patricia Gruits, AIA, LEED AP (MASS Design), Michael Reynolds (Earthship Biotecture), and Ronald Rael (Rael San Fratello).

Purchase Tickets Here

Earn 7.5 AIA LU | Elective
Schedule
FRIDAY
1:00 p.m. Meet and Greet, Registration Opens
2:00 p.m. Virginia Tech Architecture School Studio Walk
4:00 p.m. Welcome and Moderator Remarks | Ronald Rael
4:40 p.m. Speaker 1: Marlon Blackwell, FAIA
6:00 p.m. Reception
7:30 p.m. Reception ends (attendees out on your own)
SATURDAY
8:30 a.m. Check-in and Light Breakfast
9:10 a.m. Speaker 2: Patricia Gruits, AIA
10:30 a.m. Speaker 3: Ronald Rael
11:50 a.m. Lunch & Networking
1:30 p.m. Speaker 4: Michael Reynolds
3:00 p.m. Moderator Remarks and Speaker Panel
3:45 p.m. Closing Remarks
4:00 p.m. Tour of the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech
Location
Attendees can join us at the award-winning Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Tickets
AIA Member/VANOMA Member: $265
Assoc. AIA Member: $185
Non-member: $318
Student: $63

Purchase Tickets Here

Lodging
We have a room block at The Inn at Virginia Tech – please reserve your room HERE. The room block will be open until April 8, 2026.
Do you want to be a 2026 Design Forum Sponsor? Secure your sponsorship HERE and/or contact Jody Cranford.

2026 Fellows Fête
2026-05-02 18:00 - 21:00 | The Inn at Virginia Tech, 901 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg, 24061, United States
Saturday, May 2, 2026
6 – 9 p.m.
BLACK TIE
The Inn at Virginia Tech
Purchase Tickets>>
The Fellows Fête is open to all Fellows in The Region of The Virginia’s
ticket sales close April 17, 2026.
Book your hotel room for May 2nd
Reservation Link>>
Deadline: April 9, 2026
If you are also attending the Design Forum XVIII and need to extend your hotel for April 30 and May 1, please call The Inn at Virginia Tech’s reservation desk at (540) 231-8000 for help in completing your reservation for both events.
Thank you to our sponsors
if you would like to sponsor the Fête, email Cathy Guske

Historic Tour: Tangier Island History and Vernacular Architecture Tour
2026-05-09 10:00 - 15:45 | Tangier Island, 16070 Main Ridge Rd., Tangier, VA, 23440
Visit the island of Tangier, Virginia with AIA Virginia’s Historic Resources Committee to learn about the community’s long history and insights about its built environment. Lincoln Lewis, Climate Equity Doctoral Fellow with the University of Virginia’s Equity Center where he works on the Coastlines and People (CoPe) project for Virginia’s Eastern Shore, will be leading the tour. As part of HALS, he documented the Tangier Island Watermen Working Landscape.
Tangier is a unique island community that is experiencing dynamic environmental change in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. Storms, erosion, and subsidence have reduced the low-lying island’s area by more than two-thirds since 1850. The community of about 300 residents have found ways to prosper and have adapted their own form of vernacular architecture to suit the environment. Participants of the day trip will ride a round-trip ferry to the island from either Reedville (Virginia), Onancock (Virginia), or Crisfield (Maryland). While coming into Mail Boat Harbor participants will see the vernacular crab houses and then have an opportunity to eat lunch at a local restaurant. A 30-minute golf cart tour will provide an overview of the island and participants will see the historic Swain Memorial Methodist Church along with other vernacular buildings. Free time will be available for participants to visit the Tangier Island Museum and Interpretive Cultural Center along with other sites.
1.5 AIA LU | HSW
AIA Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
Students: FREE
Register Here>>
*Registration closes on May 8.
Schedule:
10:00 – Depart from Ferries (Reedville, VA, Onancock, VA)
11:30 – Arrive at Tangier’s Thomas main dock
11:35 – 12:05pm Golfcart Tour (30-minute)
12:10 – 1:10 Lunch (1-hour)
1:10-1:30 Walk together to Swain Memorial Methodist Church, continue walking together to the museum (meet the Mayor)
1:30-2:15 Free time (talk more with Mayor, go into museum [$3 entry], visit gift shops, or wander around; museum is about 7 minutes walk back to docks)
2:15 – Depart Tangier for Reedville
(departure is 3:30 for Onancock, VA)
Costs

AIA Virginia tour fee of $15 (AIA member) or $30 (non-member)
Ferry roundtrip $35 (each person needs to confirm and pay the ferry company themselves depending on which port they are traveling from)
Golf cart 30-minute tour $10 (each person pays the tour provider individually, CASH only)
Lunch will be ordered and paid individually at Muddy Toes Café. Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578242951576#

Ferry Links
(MAKE YOUR RESERVATION IN ADVANCE. FERRIES CAN SELL OUT)
Reedville, VA: https://tangiercruise.com/

Departs Reedville: 10:00am
Departs Tangier: 2:15pm

Onancock, VA: https://www.tangierferry.com/

Departs Onancock: 10:00am
Departs Tangier for Onancock: 3:30pm

*Please note – The event is contingent on weather and you are required to stay in contact with the ferry to understand if the ferry might be canceled.

VA COTE + USGBC Building Tour: LEED Silver - Virginia Tech Data and Decision Sciences Building
2026-05-21 16:00 - 17:00 | Virginia Tech Data and Decision Sciences Building, 727 Prices Fork Rd, Blacksburg, 24060, United States
Join AIAVA COTE and USGBC for our 2026 building tour series! We wish to celebrate exciting and innovative sustainable building design around the Commonwealth. Each month we will focus on a project in one of the five AIA Virginia component areas that has achieved LEED or other sustainable certification. Tours will provide AIA and USGBC CEU’s for participants.
Join us on May 21 for a tour of The Data and Decision Sciences Building at Virginia Tech is a 120,000 SF, four-story academic facility that opened in 2023 to support interdisciplinary collaboration in data analytics and decision sciences. Located on the campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, the building brings together students and faculty from the College of Engineering, the College of Science, and the Pamplin College of Business. Its Collegiate Gothic exterior clad in Hokie Stone reflects the university’s architectural traditions, while the interior features a vibrant multilevel atrium, advanced data visualization classrooms, a trading lab, and more than 30 team rooms designed for collaborative learning.
The tour will highlight key sustainability strategies integrated into the project, including a 33% reduction in whole-building energy use, 35% reduction in indoor water use, and participation in demand-response programs. Additional highlights include high-performance indoor air quality strategies, responsible material sourcing and transparency, 87% construction waste diversion, and biophilic design elements that support occupant wellbeing and connection to nature.
1 AIA LU | HSW
1 GBCI LEED Specific BD+C and LEED Green Associate CE
AIA Member: $15
USGBC Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
Students: FREE
Register Here>>
Registration closes at 4:00pm on 5/19.
*There will be an after tour social hour at Eastern Divide Brewing Company
3175 Commerce ST. Blacksburg, VA

Historic Waterford Tour + Picnic
2026-05-23 10:00 - 13:30 | Waterford School, 40222 Fairfax St, Waterford, 20197, United States
Susan Manch, Board Chair of the Waterford Foundation, will provide an overview of the historic town of Waterford, VA, a National Historic Landmark to give context prior to exploring three of the historic structures. She will then discuss the historic and restoration efforts that are ongoing at the John Wesley Church and Old School House. Following this, Susan Reed, Director of Historic Preservation with Glave & Holmes Architecture, will lead a tour of the historic Waterford Mill and discuss the history of the Mill and its relationship to the town, examine basic concepts of milling technology, explore historic masonry and timber construction, and demonstrate the kinds of deterioration associated with equipment vibration and moisture infiltration found in historic mill environments and how they were addressed during the restoration.
Tour Timeline:
9:45 – Gather at Waterford School
10:00 – Introduction to Waterford Foundation (Jim S/Sue Manch)
10:15 – Walk to Schoolhouse – Visit Inside
10:45 – Walk to Mill – Tour of Mill
11:30 – Tour/Discussion about John Wesley Church and Ongoing Work
12:15 – Return to Waterford School for light lunch and refreshments
1:30 – Event concludes
Presenter Bios:
Sue Manch is the Waterford Foundation’s Former Board President. Sue lives in the Ephraim Schooley House in Waterford. Sue has been a thought leader in the legal talent development field for over 30 years and is currently the principal of Legal Talent Strategies, a consulting firm that supports law firms with talent strategies. She sits on the Waterford Foundation Education Committee, the Waterford Foundation Homes Tours Committee, the Waterford 2033 Committee, and the Waterford Citizens Association Beautification Committee.
Susan Reed, AIA, NCARB is the Director of Historic Preservation at Glave Holmes. As a historic preservation architect, Susan brings a wealth of experience to projects in historic settings. She is skilled in restoration and rehabilitation design, designing compatible additions to historic structures, creating new designs for historic contexts, and navigating State and Federal Historic Tax Credits, Historic Structure Reports, and Conditions Assessments. Susan has worked on various project types including theatres, museums, academic buildings, warehouses, historic residences, commercial buildings, churches, rural farm buildings, government buildings, and even an offshore lighthouse
AIA Member: $15
Non-Member: $30
2 AIA LU | HSW
Register Here>>
Registration deadline is Friday, May 22 at 9:00 a.m.

Vision to Action: AIA Virginia COTE 2026 Sustainability Summit
2026-05-28 09:00 - 16:00 | Lost Office Collaborative, 5000 Old Main Street, Henrico, 23231, United States
Join us for the AIA Virginia COTE 2026 Sustainability Summit on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Richmond, VA.

The Virginia COTE Sustainability Summit brings together design professionals across Virginia committed to advancing sustainability throughout our practices. This full-day summit is structured to spark inspiration, elevate practitioner insight, and produce tangible next steps for the profession.
Earn 6 AIA LU | HSW
Purchase Tickets Here
The opening keynote by Virginia’s Chief Resilience Officer Greg Steele will frame the future challenges and opportunities facing the Commonwealth. Short, focused presentations by practitioners will highlight critical topics, innovations, and on-the-ground experiences to set the stage for more in depth discussion. Participants will then engage in morning and afternoon roundtables centered on key sustainability issues — the focus of these breakouts will ultimately be defined by the attendees, but topic prompts include policy and legislation, energy innovations, the AIA Materials Pledge, and resilience imperatives across the state. Each group will identify strategic priorities and actionable recommendations before sharing insights with the broader audience. The summit concludes with a collective synthesis session where themes are refined and distilled into a focused set of priorities to guide our shared work in the coming year.

Draft Agenda for the day:
Agenda:
8:30-9:00am: Arrival/check in & networking 9:00-9:30am: Opening keynote – Greg Steele, P.E., Chief Resilience Officer, Commonwealth of Virginia9:30-9:50: Morning Presentations

Paul Battaglia, AIA – Advocacy and Legislation
William Abrahamson, AIA, CPHC, LEED AP BD+C – Greening the Building Code
Rebecca Aarons-Sydnor, CDT, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP ID+C, GPCP – Virginia’s High Performance Building Act

9:50-10:15: Define 3-5 subtopics for breakouts/bio break/networking break10:15-11:15: Roundtables 11:15-11:45: Report out to larger group12:00-1:00: Lunch 1:00-1:30: Afternoon Presentations

Andrew McKinley, AIA, LEED AP – Resilience in Coastal Virginia
Gwen Murray, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, True Advisor – Decarbonization
Brendan Owens, PE, LEED Fellow – Operational Carbon and energy use
Bryna Dunn, Assoc. AIA, AICP, LEED Fellow – Health and Wellness in Design

1:30-1:45: Define 3-5 subtopics for breakouts 1:45-2:45: Roundtables 2:45-3:15: Report out to larger group3:15-4:00: Closing session
LocationLost Office Collaborative5000 Old Main StreetHenrico, VA 23231
TicketsAIA Member: $85Assoc. AIA Member: $75Non-member: $99Students: FREE
Purchase Tickets HereRegistration closes on 5/26 at 12:00pm
(Photo credits: Illustration by Thanh Huong Bui on Unsplash)
