DBI’s Director of Architecture, Alan Hansen, FAIA, recently participated in the unveiling of the “Signatures of Loudoun” exhibit at Washington Dulles International Airport.  Showcasing recipients of the Signatures of Loudoun Design Excellence Awards program, the 14-photograph display offers a taste of Loudoun County’s most significant architectural contributions.  The annual Design Excellence Awards program, created by the Loudoun Design Cabinet to recognize design excellence throughout the County, is a community-centric competition judged by both design-related professionals and high school students.

The exhibit is a collaborative effort of the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development, the Loudoun Design Cabinet, and the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority.  Dulles International Airport, located in Loudoun County, serves as “Washington’s gateway to the nation,” noted Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York at the event.  Sharing Loudoun County’s award-winning architecture with a worldwide audience promotes the region’s business identity as an international hub of online connectivity; for this reason, Buddy Rizer, acting director of the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development, remarked that “more than 70 percent of the entire world’s Internet traffic flow[s] through Loudoun’s data centers every day. It’s appropriate to raise awareness of Loudoun County with business leaders flying to and from important meetings in the nation’s capital.”

As Chair of the Loudoun County Design Cabinet, a volunteer group of professional architects, landscape architects, engineers, and planners sponsored by the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development, Alan Hansen also shared his enthusiasm for the exhibit:  “We are honored to have these winners on display for a global audience.”  Ten years ago, Hansen helped to form the Design Cabinet in an effort to promote high-quality, environmentally sustainable, and culturally respectful architectural and landscape design in one of the Nation’s fastest-growing communities.