Forty and Flourishing
DESIGN BRIEF | October 2019
Forty and Flourishing
Washington, DC
This year marks MV+A’s fortieth year in business, and these past few months of 2019 have highlighted just how much the firm has expanded and flourished. MV+A always encourages and supports our team members’ growth and professional development to see them excel their careers and further the firm’s profile as an established yet exciting place to work in Washington, DC. This month we highlight some major employee milestones along with a few updates on MV+A firm culture.
We are extremely excited to announce that Russell Zung, AIA, LEED AP, was promoted from Senior Associate to Principal last month, a promotion that recognizes the expanding leadership role that Russell has taken in the firm since joining MV+A in 2013. It is the first time in eleven years that MV+A has added a new Principal to the firm. Russell’s experience with a variety of project types and scales, natural leadership style, and responsive and open communication skills made him a clear choice for this new role. As MV+A grows into our fifth decade, Russell will be helping Jim Voelzke to steer that growth and continue our push for excellence. Congratulations, Russell!
Employees Colleen Korp, AIA, LEED Green Assoc., and Quinn Tshudy, LEED Green Assoc., also made professional advancements recently. Taking her first Architect Registration Examination (ARE) exam in August 2017, Colleen passed her final one this past August to become a licensed architect. She is now a full member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and is putting that knowledge to work as a Project Architect on several MV+A projects. Quinn confirmed her expertise in green building principles by passing the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) exam. Now a LEED Green Associate, Quinn’s credential denotes proficiency in today’s sustainable design, construction, and operations standards. Congratulations to both Colleen and Quinn! We look forward to their continued success as key members of the MV+A team.
This fall, MV+A took three different office “field trips” to explore the DC metro community and see MV+A work in progress.
In October, most of the firm boarded the Silver Line to take a trip to see MV+A’s Faraday project under construction in Reston, VA. Wearing their boots, vests, and official MV+A hard hats, the timing was perfect to be able to see many different stages of the construction process on one site, including concrete foundations and podium, the placement of precast tees, laying up of masonry shafts, wood framing, and air barrier installation. It was great for our emerging professional team members to see the work in progress with Associates and Senior Architects to explain all the action. Thank you to Kalinda for leading the tour.
In August, the firm took its annual fifteen-minute walk to the National Building Museum for their Summer Block Party installation. Lawn, created by the LAB at Rockwell Group, allowed us to see the design of the museum up close through the LAB’s scaffolding superstructure, and then kick back after work in hammocks suspended from the 100-foot-tall ceiling grid.
Finally, a DC summer would have not been complete without the MV+A team and extended family at a Nationals game. Despite the heat, baseball in the Nation’s Capital is always fun, and we were able to cheer on the Nationals as they made their way towards playoffs and then the World Series. Let’s Go Nats!
It has been a great summer and fall of office expansion and bonding, and we now look forward to the holidays and the season of giving. Stay tuned to see how we do at this year’s CANstruction and our additional project with the Capital Area Food Bank.