The Dolley Madison Library, designed by Bowie Gridley Architects, was honored by the National Association of Industrial Office Parks-Northern Virginia during the organization’s annual awards ceremony, Focus on Excellence, held November 17th in Tysons Corner.  The Awards Dinner was an opportunity to celebrate significant new contributions to Northern Virginia by the commercial, industrial and mixed-use real estate community.

The Award of Excellence  went to the Dolley Madison Library in the Best Building, Institutional Facility Under $20 Million Category.  The project was submitted for recognition by the Fairfax County Department of Public Works & Environmental Services. Team members included Fairfax County, Bowie Gridley Architects and Harvey-Cleary Builders.

Bowie Gridley Architects participated in the Learning Spaces Colloquium, held November 4-6 in Chantilly, Virginia.  The Colloquium, which brought together more than 100 college and university faculty, planners and librarians with architects specializing in educational facility design,  addressed the question:  “What difference do spaces make to learning and how do we know the learning outcomes of varied design approaches?” BGA Associate, Leslie W. Louden, AIA, LEED AP,  co-led a breakout discussion on technology-enhanced spaces, working with a team from the University of Maryland College Park’s School of Architecture.  The goal of further research will be to test how the design of learning environments affects learning outcomes.

The Learning Spaces Collaboratory is building upon the work of Project Kaleidoscope, which pioneered breakthroughs in undergraduate STEM education, broadening the focus to evaluate undergraduate learning spaces with  grant assistance from the National Science Foundation.

Bowie Gridley Architects has been selected to receive a Department of Public Works and Environmental Service’s Capital Facilities Award of Excellence for the design of the Dolley Madison Library, in Fairfax County, Virginia.  The award recognizes the outstanding work of the firm in creating a renovated and expanded center that meets the needs of various stakeholder groups within the community.

Bowie Gridley Architects’ design for the Dolley Madison Library retains the front facade of the original (1967) building, and provides for a major expansion to enlarge the reading room, circulation desk, and to add a large staff workroom, a new community meeting room and reading area for children. The design takes advantage of a heavily wooded site providing pleasant views of the adjacent forest at McLean Central Park. The new community library incorporates many sustainable design features, including: a 4600 square feet green roof, efficient and  renewable energy, environmental impact, resource conservation & recycling, indoor environmental quality, and environmental education program.

Bowie Gridley Architects featured innovative planning and design ideas for Boarding Schools at the Annual Conference of The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), held December 1-2, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts.   Representatives of the firm were present to discuss current and recent work of the firm.

Conference attendees representing more than 600 representatives of member schools were invited to learn about innovative, contextual, and sustainable design solutions for academic facilities, performing arts,  athletic facilities, dormitories, and student centers.

Bowie Gridley Architects, founded in 1981, specializes in work for institutions of community significance – schools, performing arts centers, libraries, athletic facilities, and museums. The mid-size architecture, planning and interior design firm is based in historic Georgetown and works with clients nationally.