Purpose

The Signatures of Loudoun Awards program honors architects, builders, and a variety of projects. The program recognizes the buildings and public spaces that reflect outstanding design, renovation, adaptive reuse and visually groundbreaking projects throughout the county.

Eligibility and Criteria

  • Project must be physically located in Loudoun County. Please note that special events are not eligible.
  • Project must be completed at the time of application submission. Projects under construction will not be considered.
  • All nomination forms must be filled out completely with all mandatory fields filled in.
  • Project representative for winning projects must attend the June 4, 2024 Board of Supervisors business meeting where the Signatures of Loudoun awards will be presented.

Entry Requirements and Specifications

  • Completed nomination form. Submissions with incomplete nomination forms or those failing to meet all of the entry requirements will be rendered in default and will not be judged.
  • High resolution digital images (no more than five), must be included with the nomination form. By submitting an image for use by the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development (DED), you warrant and represent that you own or otherwise control all of the rights of the image/materials that you are uploading. Once a media file is submitted, you are granting DED full rights to reproduce the photograph/materials in publications or other media material produced, used, or contracted by DED including but not limited to brochures, videos, social media, magazines, television, websites, etc.
  • All submission materials will remain the property of Loudoun County Department of Economic Development, which may reproduce any part thereof for publicity purposes.
  • All materials submitted to The Signatures of Loudoun will be treated as public records and subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rules and regulations. If you have questions or concerns about this requirement, please contact the Department of Economic Development at 1-800-LOUDOUN before submitting your application.

Categories

The Design Cabinet will judge each project on its own merit as well as its assigned categories. The Design Cabinet reserves the right to recategorize as applicable.

  • Details: Design excellence or whimsy demonstrated in the form of minutiae or finishing touches, which visually delight or offer a sense of continuity with Loudoun’s history. Be creative! Tell how the physical project demonstrates design excellence and makes a lasting mark on Loudoun.
  • Contextual Design: Design excellence demonstrated in the exceptional attention given to surrounding buildings, places, and details during the project design. A highly “contextual” design solution in which the newly “adopted child” looks as if it had always been visually harmonious member of the larger family of forms, textures and colors which can be found in the neighborhood. (note, this is for new construction projects)
  • Infrastructure: Design excellence demonstrated in infrastructure such as facilities, utilities, roadways, and bridges.
  • Interiors: Design excellence demonstrated in an interior space. This could include space in residential, commercial, retail, and public-sector structures.
  • Historic Renovation: Design excellence demonstrated in the form of historic renovation and/or adaptive reuse. These projects may mirror Loudoun’s unfolding reputation as a place of rich contrasts. Projects characterized by the preservation of a piece of Loudoun County’s unique history. Note: “before” and “after” photos must be included for this category.
  • Pace Setters: Recent, visually groundbreaking projects that continue to shape Loudoun County as a unique environment. While Loudoun’s vernacular buildings, places, and details mark the community’s beginnings, these projects mark its current state of affairs and potentially set the pace for the future. Pace Setters may well be the Legends which the Signatures of Loudoun program honors a quarter-century from now.
  • Public Spaces: Design excellence demonstrated in the form of public greens, plazas, squares, streetscape, parkways, and trails, which, by their attributes, have become a favorite mixing place. These are places where exceptional design has created gathering places that are icons of a community.

Deadline

All entries must be submitted by 5 p.m., Monday, April 8, 2024.

Judging

The jury will be composed of the Loudoun County Design Cabinet members and others as predetermined by the Cabinet. This will include a panel of Loudoun County high school students working to select a “Students’ Choice Award.” The jury shall have the sole authority to determine how many awards are selected; no minimum or maximum number of awards has been established. Projects will be considered on their own merits regardless of size, scope, category or cost. The jury’s decisions are final and not subject to review.

Announcement & Presentation of Winners

All nomination entrants and all winning award recipients will be contacted in spring 2024 following the jury’s deliberations. Winners and team members listed on the nomination form will be invited to attend an awards presentation during a Loudoun County  Board of Supervisors Business Meeting in June 2024.

Award Display Boards and Certificates

Each award winning entry will receive one 2’ x 2’ display board with a photo of the winning project. Additional boards may be available for purchase by the winning team.

Each winning entry will also receive paper award certificates for the persons listed on the nomination form.

 

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