Columbia, Maryland (June 17, 2008) Nemetschek North America is pleased to announce that Jim Rounsevell, a VectorWorks Architect user, was a winner in the prestigious Washington D.C. AIA Chapter/Washingtonian Magazine awards competition for Residential Design.

Each year, the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and Washingtonian Magazine team up to recognize exceptional residential design in the metropolitan Washington area. Featured in the June 2008 issue of Washingtonian magazine, Rounsevell’s Poplar Terraces project in Falls Church, Virginia was commended by the jury for its "clean and simple" design approach and ability to deliver high-quality residences on a relatively modest budget.

The distinctive contemporary architecture of Poplar Terraces is inspired by housing types found in cities like Charleston, South Carolina. Each house is set along walled gardens perpendicular to the street to garner private outdoor space and optimize solar orientation, fostering connectivity between the homes and the surrounding landscape. The houses also share a stand of protected old-growth tulip poplars in a preservation out-lot, as well as a rain garden (thus inspiring the title of the project).

"In the metropolitan area, land development is inevitable; however, the goal of this project is to preserve a connection with the land, balancing the natural with the man-made," explains Jim Rounsevell. "Rather than constructing the largest building footprint possible for the budget, these houses are carefully crafted and sited."

The project also received a U.S. Government Energy Star rating for its energy efficiency.

Jim Rounsevell designed the Poplar Terraces project in VectorWorks Architect. As a longtime VectorWorks Architect user, Jim takes advantage of Architect's workflow efficiency from the very beginning. "The fact that you can script document sets in VectorWorks from the start and make decisions about floor levels and massing at an early stage in the process makes it immensely useful," explains Jim. "In addition, VectorWork's integrated design, modeling, and rendering environment provide a more efficient workflow, enabling us to automate processes and produce exceptional renderings and construction drawings."

Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, Jim Rounsevell Architecture + Photography is deeply committed to design excellence. In each project, the intersection between landscape and habitation are carefully explored to develop schemes sympathetic with their setting. Photography is engaged to explore these relationships. His projects in the Charlottesville and Washington metropolitan areas include new residential construction, renovation, and commercial work.

For more information on Jim's firm, visit www.studio109plc.com and for more information about the award-winning project, visit www.poplarterraces.com

Nemetschek North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Nemetschek Group. A global leader in design technologies, Nemetschek North America has been developing CAD software for the AEC, entertainment, landscape design, and manufacturing fields since 1985. For more information, visit www.nemetschek.net