Arlington — The Arlington County Board honored the winners of the county’s DESIGNArlington awards on Feb. 25 for their contributions to Arlington’s built environment. All the winning projects display strategies for overcoming design challenges, and may serve as examples for future work.
Judges examined 43 entries for the award. The winners include public art, new construction, and renovations of private homes and commercial space. Images of the winning works can be found on the DESIGNArlington website.
This year’s winners include:
Diaz Residence (4301 37th Road North) – Residential addition/renovation – Subtle updates to the front façade and a significant addition to the rear of the home modernized a single-family home without completely changing its appearance or how it fits in with neighboring homes.
Bromptons at Monument Place (North Nash Street and 14th Street North) – Residential new construction – Well-detailed neoclassical townhomes.
Wood Temple in a Garden (1608 N. Cleveland Street) – Residential new construction – Well-designed studio outbuilding incorporates materials from the existing home. New addition is modern but respectful to neighborhood character.
“+2Edison7” (5077 27th Street North) – Residential addition/renovation – Compact footprint is appropriately scaled for the neighborhood. It creates contrasts with neighboring buildings without competing for attention.
Monroe House (3132 North Monroe Street) – Residential new construction – Design is respectful of setbacks and scale of neighboring homes. Meticulously detailed without looking out of place.
Crystal Drive streetscape – Commercial renovation/new construction – Transformed an auto-oriented street into a lively multi-use corridor. Highlights the shifting goals in urban design and placemaking.
Egge Residence (3317 North 23rd Street) – Residential addition/historic preservation – Addition nearly doubled the size of the historic home without altering its character.
Pentagon Row plaza – Open space renovation – Optimizes space and outdoor recreational areas. Highlights how a public space can be reinvented to adapt to new needs.
Two honorable mentions also were recognized:
800 N. Glebe Road – Mixed-use new construction – Building engages the adjacent sidewalk. It includes a historic architectural reference to the former Bob Peck Chevrolet building, as well as a historic marker.
“Wave Arbor” in Long Bridge Park – Public art – Kinetic art incorporated into a recreational space.
Several of the projects illustrate how the public and private sectors work together to improve the county’s public spaces. The designers of the Crystal Drive project and the Pentagon Row project collaborated with county planners to amend site plans. The Egge Residence designers worked with the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board.
The 43 entrants were not in competition with each other, but were evaluated according to their own merits. A panel of four jurors examined the quality of each overall design and determined the number of awards to be granted.
The four jurors were:
Victor Dover, Urban Designer with Dover, Kohl & Partners
Sarah Lewis, Architect and Urban Designer with Fuss & O’Neill
Claire Bedat, Landscape Architect with AECOM
John Rust, Architect and Historic Preservationist with Rust Orling Architecture
DESIGNArlington is a biennial awards program, launched in 2009, aimed at increasing public awareness of outstanding design. Residents, property owners, developers and members of the design community submit nominations for new construction, renovations, additions or adaptive re-use projects. Eligible projects must have been completed within the last 10 years.
The Arlington County Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development’s Center for Urban Design + Research coordinates the DESIGNArlington awards.