Visitor Center 2026 Design Competition

Each summer, Clark Nexsen's new hires and summer students across architecture, interiors, and landscape architecture gather from all offices for a design retreat. Hosted in our Raleigh, NC, office, 25 colleagues from Clark Nexsen and JMT divided into six teams to participate in an internal design competition that bridges students' theoretical knowledge with practical application. This year's assignment was to design a new visitor center for the historic Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia Beach, VA. Completed in 1792, the lighthouse welcomes 50,000 annual visitors. With guidance from mentors and senior staff, teams were tasked with reimagining the visitor experience with a design that meets modern, flexible, and sustainable needs, while respecting the site's historic fabric. After presenting their ideas to an audience of staff and guests, the design retreat concluded, and the six groups had four weeks to finalize designs before submitting their proposals to the jury.

FIRST PLACE

Compass 
Angellina Coats, Kelsey Halvorsen, Raina Markulis, Emilia Saltzman, Kathryn Webb

Beautifully presented with hybrid drawings and hand rendered watercolors, the Compass proposal depicted a sophisticated, understated strategy that nestled the visitor center into the hillside. The design prioritized universal access with an experiential promenade and site circulation pattern that considered both the ascent and descent of the knoll.

 

SECOND PLACE

Unfolding Landmark

Stella Cross, Tom Foederer, Sean MacKay 

The Unfolding Landmark drew the jury's attention with its complete integration of the building and landscape. Countering the verticality of the lighthouse, the horizontal design of the layered site walls gradually negotiated the elevation change for the ramps and walks. The scheme celebrated the ascent and offers a rich new experience of the site.

 

THIRD PLACE

Dune 
Jules Bricker, Nate Kurtz, Elizabeth Shull, Emma Stentz, John Wissinger 

Dune's design strategy interpreted the visitor center as an extension of the landscape. It was quiet and understated, while still firmly asserting itself as an expressive piece of architecture. The jury praised the way the scheme opened at the entry, which welcomed visitors upon approach and framed curated views of the two lighthouses.