Platinum Design Award from the 2022 Virginia School Boards Association’s Exhibition of School Architecture Competition
“Emil and Grace Shihadeh Innovation Center” in Winchester, Virginia, 2022
As an associate architect to VMDO Architects, Reader & Swartz collaborated on the design of this new technology center.
“The new Emil and Grace Shihadeh Innovation Center is a hub of workforce development preparing Winchester Public Schools students and community members for the new workforce of tomorrow.
A radical transformation of an existing outdated elementary school, the mission of the center is to ensure that every student is prepared and empowered with a marketable skill that leads to full, high-paying employment.”
–2023 Virginia School Boards Association
Award of Excellence in Residential Architecture from AIA Northern Virginia
“Camp May” in Great Cacapon, West Virginia, 2022
“Camp May plays big, but is actually small. It offers incredible views into a place that is much loved by the clients. The forms reflect the importance of the spaces, so that the bedrooms are more modest, the public spaces are larger. We love the fact that the clients’ themselves hammered down the flooring. The use of simple IKEA furniture and millwork really speaks to this being a modest place, but one that affords it a great luxury.”
–Daniela Holt Voith, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, IIDA, Juror for the 2022 AIA Northern Virginia Design Awards.
Award of Merit in Historic Architecture from AIA Northern Virginia
“Vibe Main Street Properties” in Front Royal, Virginia, 2022
“Several of the jury have actually lived in southwest Virginia, and this particular project kind of stuck with us as being emblematic of main streets in rural Virginia. We all appreciated the efforts that were made to address the urban condition and to inject liveliness and a sense of community in an area which was previously neglected.”
–Drew Lavine, AIA, LFA, CPHD, LEED AP, Juror for the 2022 AIA Northern Virginia Design Awards.
Honor Award in the Excellence in Architecture category from AIA West Virginia
“Crooked Bow Tie House” in Great Cacapon, West Virginia, 2022
This weekend house is perched on a sloped site at the top of a scenic ridge line. It overlooks the Great Cacapon River Valley near Berkeley, West Virginia. The facade is clad in a striking contrast of cedar and black vertical metal siding, both emphasizing the unique arrangement of angular forms and anchoring the house within the surrounding woods. A few small windows sparsely puncture the entry side while the opposite side opens up to dramatic views of the landscape with large windows. A large cantilever on the end of the primary wing extends towards the trees, invoking a treehouse-like feel inside the primary bedroom. Wood finishes, raw steel, and a muted color palette throughout the modern interior help to further highlight the impressive exterior scenery.

Kitten Herlong Award of Merit, Northern Virginia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (Staff intern architects Zac Ray, Joel Richardson, Kevin Walker, Nathan Webb), for “House for an Ecologist”, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 2006.

Recognition of Outstanding Achievement Award, Northern Virginia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, awarded individually to Beth Reader, AIA and Chuck Swartz, AIA, 2004.

Award of Merit for Conceptual / Unbuilt Architecture, Northern Virginia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, for The House in Dutton Gap, in Gerrardstown, West Virginia, 2003.

Merit Award, Northern Virginia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, for Yellow Spring House, Yellow Spring, West Virginia, Virginia, 1996.

Merit Award, Northern Virginia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, for Bluemont House and Pavilion, Bluemont, Virginia, 1995.

Merit Award, Northern Virginia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, for Deck and Pavilion at Lake St. Clair, Frederick County, Virginia, 1994.

Merit Award, Northern Virginia Chapter of the AIA Young Architects Forum, for the Bluemont House and Pavilion, Bluemont, Virginia, 1993.