Brian C. Gore, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, LEED Green Associate, a designer in Quinn Evans’ Richmond, Virginia, office, has received the first-ever Virginia Associates Award from AIA Virginia. Gore will be formally presented with the award on November 2 at AIA Virginia’s Visions for Architecture event.
This new award recognizes Associate AIA members who have demonstrated leadership and contributed to their communities and the architectural profession. Gore was nominated for the award by the Virginia Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (VANOMA), where he is a board member and serves as a liaison to student chapters. VANOMA’s board unanimously endorsed Gore for the award, citing his commitment to mentorship and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in architecture.
Gore believes every architect, no matter how early in their career, is responsible for helping the next generation succeed. He credits his dedication to mentorship to the gratitude he feels toward his own mentors – the many architects who have offered guidance and wisdom as he builds his career. He feels particularly indebted to Rasheda Tripp, AIA, an architect and DEI advocate he met virtually at Architecture Exchange East in 2020 and with whom he has talked regularly ever since; and Quinn Evans’ Kelley Holmes, AIA, with whom he works closely on projects and serves on the VANOMA board.
We have a duty in our profession to grow the next generation of architects. It takes all of us who are currently practicing reaching back to pull others up.
- BRIAN GORE
In addition to his work with VANOMA, Gore is active in AIA Virginia, where he serves on the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee; and ACE Richmond, where he mentors high school students interested architecture, construction, and engineering. Gore is passionate about increasing DEI in our profession, noting that only 2% of registered architects are Black. He hopes to create change through his mentoring work with young people of color – by guiding architecture students and helping them navigate the transition from academia to professional practice as well as by building the pipeline of future architects through K-12 programs.
Architecture is a creative profession, but if we’re not being inclusive, if we’re missing out on new ideas, are we really pushing the boundaries of what’s possible? What would our buildings look like if our firms reflected the diversity of our communities? What would our cities look like?
- BRIAN GORE
Gore holds a Master of Architecture (2020) from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture (2018) from Fairmont State University in his native West Virginia. Since joining Quinn Evans in 2021, Gore’s project work has focused on three projects in the Southeast Community Resource Area of Newport News, Virginia: an Early Childhood Center, the transformation of the historic Huntington Middle School into the Huntington Miller Bailey Center, and a new Huntington Middle School.
