‘When creativity meets purpose’: Three MoCo development projects recognized for design ‘excellence’

North Bethesda’s Strathmore Square wins Montgomery Planning’s top award at 2025 ceremony

From a transit-oriented North Bethesda development to a pocket plaza in Bethesda, several local sites in Montgomery County are in the spotlight following recognition by local planning officials and other experts as exemplary examples of architecture and design.

On Thursday, Montgomery Planning hosted its Design Excellence Awards event at the Marriott International Headquarters in downtown Bethesda, featuring projects honored by the department and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Potomac Valley chapter’s 2025 Celebrate Design awards.

The awards ceremony aims to highlight and celebrate the finest examples of architecture and design in the county, Montgomery Planning officials said at the event.

At the start of the ceremony, Montgomery County Planning Board Chair Artie Harris told the dozens of architects, developers, planners and elected officials in attendance that the event was about “recognizing visionaries” whose work transforms neighborhoods, enhances public spaces and makes the county a “vibrant” place.

“It’s remarkable how simple materials, like brick, wood and concrete, can be transformed and transformative. We are privileged to be surrounded by so many projects that demonstrate the interplay between building, street and public space,” Harris said. “These projects foster connection, inclusion and a true sense of place.”

Three county development projects were recognized with planning department awards for “excellence” in design, housing and placemaking: Strathmore Square, an 8-acre transit-oriented development in North Bethesda; The Sophia, a new residential building in Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle neighborhood; and a pocket plaza at the corner of Wisconsin and Bethesda avenues in downtown Bethesda.

Montgomery Planning Director Jason Sartori said the winners exemplified more than just beautiful aesthetics, but the ability to connect people.

“Your work inspires us every day in the work that we do in the planning department,” Sartori said to the developers and architects at the ceremony. “It challenges us and it moves us closer to our goal of complete communities. You’ve shown us what’s possible when creativity meets purpose.”

County Council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) and Councilmembers Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) and Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-Large) attended the ceremony and presented awards to county projects. State Sen. Sara Love (D, Dist. 16), District 16 Dels. Marc Korman, Teresa Woorman and Sarah Wolek and District 18 Dels. Aaron Kaufman and Jared Solomon also attended and presented citations to the architects and developers behind the projects.

Strathmore Square

Strathmore Square, a transit-oriented development near the arts and music venue Strathmore and the Grosvenor Metro station in North Bethesda, won the night’s top prize — the Gwen Marcus Wright Design Excellence Award–– from Montgomery Planning. The multi-phase project is led by Fivesquares Development, a Washington, D.C.-based developer, in partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and The Music Center at Strathmore.

In October 2024, developers and local elected officials celebrated the opening of two residential buildings within the development, Ravel and Royale, at 10511 Strathmore Hall St., marking the completion of the project’s first phase. The second phase includes 400 additional residential units and 10,000 square feet of retail space, and is expected to be completed by 2027, according to Fivesquares. The remaining phases of the neighborhood are expected to include an additional 1,500 residential units, senior housing residences and 51,000 square feet of retail space.

“This project permeates music and dance throughout the entire development, with studios and classrooms integrated into the buildings, plaza and parks. The landscape and building terraces weave the streets and buildings into a beautiful Rock Creek Park setting,” Stewart said while handing out the award. She noted the project is a “perfect example” of how to bring the county areas accessible by transit to their “fullest potential.”

The Sophia

The Sophia, a 23-story Art Deco-inspired residential building, developed by Rockville real estate developer Duball and designed by Maurice Walters Architects Inc., won the Design Excellence Award for Exceptional Housing from Montgomery Planning.

The 276-unit, mixed-use building at 4924 St Elmo Ave was completed in late 2024, according to Duball’s project website. The building features several ground-floor commercial spaces, a pool, a fitness center with a yoga studio, common spaces and private terraces. The building has a mix of luxury studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, some of which have balconies.

In presenting the award, Friedson called the building a “gem” and said he was excited to have the building in Bethesda, which is part of the council district he represents.

“The care and consideration given to the massing and detail of this building makes it stand out as a timeless residential address in the county,” Friedson added. “This environmentally sustainable … building takes the best lessons of residential design from the past to meet the current needs of how we live today.”

The Plaza at 7200 Wisconsin Ave.

The public plaza with bright green outdoor furniture, wooden benches and public art at 7200 Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Bethesda won the Merit Award for Placemaking from Montgomery Planning. The project was designed by LandDesign, a landscape architecture firm in Alexandria, Virginia, and JBG Smith owns the plaza.

Sayles, who presented the award, described the project as the “perfect example” of redevelopment of an underutilized space into a public good.

The plaza, situated in front of a Starbucks café near Bethesda Row, serves as a community gathering place.

Other winners

The AIA Potomac Valley chapter also honored five projects in Montgomery County, among others in Maryland, Virginia and the District.

Here are the county winners:

  1. A zig-zag-shaped pavilion at Hillandale Local Park in Silver Spring received a Merit Award in the small projects category. The project was designed by Winstanley Architects & Planners, of Alexandria, Virginia, and is owned by Montgomery Parks; and
  2. Bullis Park Residence in Silver Spring, designed by Carib Daniel Martin of A+D Architects, of Kensington, received a Commendation Award in the residential architecture category;
  3. The Leggett and the Silver Spring Recreation & Aquatic Center in downtown Silver Spring, designed by the Washington, D.C.-based KDG Architecture firm, received a Commendation Award in the multi-family architecture category;
  4. A home library in Potomac, called “A 15 Year Library for 10,000 Books” and designed by Takoma Park’s Added Dimensions Inc., received a Merit Award in the interior architecture category;
  5. The Isaiah Leggett Math and Science Building at Montgomery College’s Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus, designed by the Detroit-based SmithGroup, received an Honor Award in the institutional architecture category.
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