Virginia Tech Academic Building One & Joy Evans Therapeutic Recreation Center Win AIA Awards
AIA Northern Virginia announced its 2026 Design Award recipients during the annual Design Awards Gala, held at Virginia Tech Innovation Campus – Building One in Alexandria, Virginia. The program recognized 23 awards across nine categories, celebrating outstanding built and conceptual work by AIA Northern Virginia architect members.
SK&A is honored to have contributed to two award-winning projects this year: Virginia Tech Academic Building One and Joy Evans Therapeutic Recreation Center. SK&A also served as a Bronze Sponsor of the gala, with Aaron Snyder attending in support of the Joy Evans project.
Award-Winning Projects:
Virginia Tech Academic Building One
Award of Excellence, Education Architecture
Project Summary:
Virginia Tech Academic Building One anchors the university’s Innovation Campus in Alexandria, Virginia, supporting graduate-level programs in computer science, computer engineering, and related fields. The 11-story, 300,000 sf building features a distinctive gem-shaped design and includes instruction, research, office, and support spaces, along with flexible multipurpose areas, research and testing labs, and below-grade parking.
SK&A Role:
SK&A provided testing and inspection services for the project. Our scope included special inspection and testing services for structural steel, cold-formed steel, bolted and welded connections, spray-applied fire-resistive materials, and intumescent fire-resistive materials. SK&A also provided non-destructive examination and ground-penetrating radar scanning of concrete structures, along with continuous/full-time quality assurance inspections of the various roof assemblies.
- Architect: SmithGroup
- Client: Virginia Tech
- General Contractor: Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
- SK&A Services: Testing + Inspection
- SK&A Team: J. Brent Stephens, PE; Charles T. Mitchell; Michael Muir, PE; Abdelgadir Adam; Ahmad Khalilullah, EIT; Gregory Gordon; Antonio Ivory; Vladimir Krivin; Brandon Hackey
Joy Evans Therapeutic Recreation Center
Award of Merit, Civic/Cultural Architecture
Project Summary:
The Joy Evans Therapeutic Recreation Center replaces an aging 1970s facility with a new community-centered recreation building designed to support therapeutic programming for people of all ages and abilities. Located in Southeast Washington, DC, the project includes a new 36,800 sf facility and extensive sitework, with major program elements including an indoor natatorium with warm-water pool and spa, gymnasium, fitness room, wellness studio, senior and caregiver rooms, multipurpose activity spaces, playgrounds, splash pad, athletic field, sport court, sensory and community gardens, and a sitewide trail network.
SK&A Role:
SK&A provided structural engineering services for the project. The building’s structural steel design included unique detailing and construction considerations related to the sloping roofs and continuous protruding sharp-edged eave designs along the perimeter. The alignment of finishes at the eave soffits was fit in-field onto the varying sloped structural steel roof framing, with a bent plate extending beyond the fenestration to create the project’s continuous “knife edge” design.
- Architect: DLR Group
- Client: DC Department of General Services
- General Contractor: Smoot Construction Company
- SK&A Services: Structural Engineering
- SK&A Team: Scott B. Stewart, PE, SE; Glenn R. Weatherley, PE; Aaron R. Snyder, PE; James Chavin-Grant, PE, SE, CDT
We are honored to see these projects recognized by AIA Northern Virginia for design excellence, collaboration, and their meaningful contributions to the built environment. Congratulations to our project partners and everyone involved in bringing these award-winning spaces to life.
