WINCHESTER, Va. — AIA Virginia celebrated this year’s 2024 Design Award winners at the annual “Visions For Architecture” conference on November 7 in Richmond.
We are delighted to announce that the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley’s newest collection of projects is one of the award winners.
Winner: AIA 2024 Design Award, Design for Context: Citation
“Folly & Utility” is a collection of five place-defining elements. All are part of the master plan initially developed for the museum site in 2013 by noted architectural firm Reader & Swartz; they are:
- Treehouse Folly
- Silo Folly
- Trailhead Folly
- Horticulture Center
- New Entrance and Monumental Signage
According to the AIA, the contextual design awards commend “outstanding architecture that perceptibly reflects the history, culture, and physical environment of the place in which it stands and that, in turn, contributes to the function, beauty, and meaning of its larger context.”
The jury noted that these whimsical structures, designed by Reader & Swartz, meaningfully and vibrantly contribute to the museum’s campus without overshadowing existing buildings.
The new entrance experience opens with a commanding view of the Michael Graves-designed gallery building while introducing visitors to the original farmland, new trails, and art installations.
A horticulture and maintenance compound at the center of the complex was greatly expanded, and new park follies – a trailhead, a treehouse, and a silo – expand upon the existing historic garden’s follies, extending new eye-catching elements into the larger agricultural and art park landscape. The new follies are places for the public to interact with art and invite exploration along the extensive network of trails.
Owner: Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
Architecture Firm: Reader & Swartz Architects, P.C.
Contractor: Howard Shockey & Sons, Inc.
All images courtesy of Reader & Swartz Architects, P.C. (Beth Reader, FAIA, Chuck Swartz, FAIA, Caleb Snyder, AIA)