As we close out 2025, the DMSAS team would like to extend our gratitude to our clients, colleagues and collaborators. We look forward to sharing progress in the year ahead. Below are several highlights from the fourth quarter of 2025. | | |
DMSAS Team Builds St. Basil's Cathedral at CANstruction 2025
Washington, DC
This year, a DMSAS team of 10 builders represented our firm at CANstruction 2025, a charity event hosted by the District Architecture Center and organized by the Washington Architectural Foundation. The competition challenges teams to design and construct large sculptures made entirely of cans, all of which are donated to the Capital Area Food Bank. Inspired by this year’s theme, World Architecture, our team built an impressive recreation of St. Basil’s Cathedral using 2,608 cans!
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David M. Schwarz Celebrates 19th Annual Gingertown
Washington, DC
On December 2nd, David M. Schwarz Architects hosted our 19th annual Gingertown celebration, bringing together architects, designers, and community members to craft a vibrant gingerbread city inspired by this year’s theme: World’s Fair.
Gingertown has become a cherished tradition, one that champions creativity, community engagement, and charitable giving. Participants gathered around tables filled with gingerbread, icing, and candy to construct festive architectural masterpieces.
This year’s celebration was a tremendous success, raising $37,500 to support six Washington-focused community charities. We are particularly appreciative to Hines for lending us space at 1070 17th for the build-out and display of Gingertown 2025. We are delighted to acknowledge the standout creations from Gingertown 2025: World’s Fair. Congratulations to this year’s winners:
Most Innovative Use of Materials
o Architecture Incorporated — Mentos Monorail
Best Expression of Theme
o HDR Architecture — NY State Pavilion
Best Overall Design Quality
o Streetsense — Crystal Lake Boat House
Judges’ Choice Award
o Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. (HGA) — Jolly Rancher Comedy Club
o Summer Consultants — Carrier Igloo
Mayor’s Choice
o Consigli Construction — Pirate Ship
Thank you to all of our sponsors and participants for making this year’s event truly special. Your creativity, passion, and continued enthusiasm are what keep Gingertown thriving year after year. We look forward to celebrating Gingertown’s 20th Anniversary next year. Visit our website in October of 2026 for the theme and master plan of next year's Gingertown.
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New Project Photography Highlights Sophia Bethesda and Edensword Hall
This September, DMSAS partnered with Steve Hall at Hall Merrick + McCaugherty to photograph two of our recently completed projects: the Sophia Bethesda and the renovation of Edensword Hall at St. John’s College in Annapolis.
Located in the Woodmont Triangle neighborhood, the Sophia Bethesda is a 21-story 330,000 SF building and is the firm’s tallest to date. The 270 apartment units all have expansive views and are complemented by a suite of luxury amenities including a rooftop pool. On the ground floor, the Paris Baguette, a recently opened bakery, opens onto and activates a through-block pedestrian promenade.
Edensword Hall is an 18,000 SF renovation project at St. John’s College Annapolis that includes the new Annapolis Cup Café, a new college bookstore with custom designed millwork, and updated student dormitories above. The Collegiate Georgian Edensword Hall is our firm's second project at St. John’s College and is located adjacent to Mellon Hall, a landmark classroom building designed in 1958 by noted California modernist Richard Neutra and restored by DMSAS in 2023.
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New Hire: Olivia DiMattio
Washington, DC
Olivia DiMattio, a member of our Summer 2025 Fellowship class from The Catholic University of America, has joined DMSAS full-time. During her fellowship, Olivia contributed to a variety of ongoing design efforts across the firm, primarily supporting work at Cook Children’s Medical Center. We are excited to officially welcome Olivia to the firm and look forward to her continued growth at DMSAS.
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New Hire: Maria Maxwell
Washington, DC
Maria Maxwell, a 2023 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, has also joined the firm. Maria discovered her passion for architecture through a blend of her favorite academic interests, art, math, and travel, along with a memorable conversation with an architecture student while on campus. We are excited to have her join the DMSAS team.
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DMSAS Expands and Enhances its 2026 Fellowship Program
Since 2000, David M. Schwarz Architects has supported an annual Summer Internship & Traveling Fellowship Awards Program, rooted in our belief that experiencing architecture firsthand is essential to an architect’s continued growth. The Fellowship offers students the opportunity to broaden their academic path through independent travel, research, and immersive exposure to our design process and studio culture.
This year, we are excited to add Howard University to our Fellowship program, joining The Catholic University of America, The University of Maryland, Yale University, and The University of Notre Dame.
The 2026 Fellowship stipend has been increased to $15,000, supporting travel, housing, and independent research throughout the summer. Combined with the value of the paid internship, the award value for each Fellowship is now approximately $25,000.
Fellowship recipients are selected by their universities based upon a competitive application process and award announcements for all participating universities will be made in mid–late February 2026. We look forward to welcoming the next cohort of fellows to our studio.
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Conference Highlights: DMSAS at SCUP Southeast and ICFAD
International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD)
This October, Principal and Managing Director Gregory Hoss and Development Director Derek Marks represented DMSAS at the 61st Annual International Council for Arts Deans (ICFAD) Conference, held in the vibrant cultural hub of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The conference brought together fine arts deans and collaborators for a four-day exchange of ideas to meet the challenges and opportunities faced in collegiate arts education. DMSAS sponsored the Closing Reception at the New Mexico History Museum and hosted a roundtable discussion, where we presented an overview of the feasibility study process.
Society of College and University Planning (SCUP)
In late October, Development Director Derek Marks and Senior Associate Mark Elliott attended the SCUP Southeast Conference in Atlanta, held at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. During the event, they connected with colleagues and friends from across the architectural and planning community. Hastings Architecture (DMSAS's Architect of Record on Vanderbilt University Residential Colleges) presented a comprehensive overview of the team's four residential colleges at Vanderbilt University.
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Construction Begins on Longwood University's New School of Music
Farmville, VA
David M. Schwarz Architects is pleased to share that the Longwood University School of Music has officially broken ground, marking an exciting next step in the university’s ongoing commitment to advancing the arts and enriching student life. The new 60,720-square-foot facility will serve as a signature academic and cultural anchor for the campus.
The School of Music is designed to elevate Longwood’s music program with state-of-the-art rehearsal spaces, technologically advanced classrooms, dedicated practice rooms, and a dynamic 500-seat performance hall that will support both student musicians and community engagement. The building’s architecture reflects Longwood’s classical collegiate character while introducing a modern, acoustically sophisticated home for the arts. This milestone represents years of planning, collaboration, and shared vision between the university, the design team, and project partners.
We look forward to sharing progress updates as the project takes shape and to celebrating its completion alongside the Longwood community.
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