2024 Scholarship Announced: Avery Bates Receives $10,000 Award

Avery Bates received the 2024 AIA Richmond Scholarship award of $10,000
coordinated by the K-12 Outreach Committee. Avery graduated from the Steward
School in Henrico County and was accepted to Auburn University’s Architecture
program.

Avery, who also completed an internship at HKS Architects, mentioned that one of her
favorite buildings is the new VCU Children’s Hospital. She likes how the usage of color
in a space impacts the built environment and influences the mood of a building.
Learning how color can affect the perception of spaces was very eye-opening and
inspired her to see architecture as her future career.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is another of Avery’s favorite buildings, especially
because of its green architecture and how it focuses on reducing the negative impacts
of a building towards the environment. As a future architect, she envisions that her
designs will address sustainability issues so they can be environmentally friendly by
reducing water consumption, conserving energy and promoting recycling.

AIA Richmond supports Avery’s journey in becoming a registered architect and an AIA
member. We wish her lots of success in her architectural studies. We would also like to
thank Steward School College Counselor Melissa Calkins for suggesting that Avery
apply for the scholarship. The K-12 Outreach Committee will be accepting applications
for the 2025 scholarship in May 2025. Let’s work together to produce the new
generation of architects!