Local Architect Honored for his Community Service

The Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce annually  honors community and business leaders for their outstanding service to McLean. Seventeen men and women, our neighbors, received awards in a recent ceremony for their amazing work. McLean Patch is profiling each winner by publishing the citations awarded to each.

 Community Leadership Award: Ghassan Abukurah  

Richard S. Salopek, AIA, Principal, Bowie Gridley Architects and former President of the McLean Planning Committee: "As a member and past president of the McLean Planning Committee, I have had the pleasure of working first-hand with Ghassan Abukurah on many important issues that will directly affect the quality of life in McLean. He has chosen to use his talents as a practicing architect to benefit the McLean community by spearheading sustainable design initiatives and serving as President of the McLean Planning Committee. Ghassan is a role model for local business owners - his actions should inspire others to get involved in their community and make a positive difference."

Ghassan Abukurah is a distinguished civic leader in the McLean Community. His McLean-based architectural firm joined the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce in January 2010 and he serves on the Chamber board of directors.

The Chamber appointed him to the McLean Planning Committee in 2010 as their representative and this summer he was elected as its president.  The Planning Committee is one of the two most important citizen organizations in McLean, advising the Dranesville Supervisor, and the Fairfax County Planning Commission on land use issues in the McLean Central Business District. 

He was enlisted by the Chamber to develop a group of environmentally-conscious community leader’s intent on improving our commitment to sustainable environmental practices, and is the chair of Green Mclean which now has  11 committee members, with expressed interest from hundreds of other McLean citizens.  Green McLean will plan projects that will increase awareness among residents and business owners of energy conservation and efficiency and will promote sustainable environmental practices.  Ghassan is currently leading the work on developing a web site for Green McLean that will offer information, resources, and motivation to increase the community’s commitment to sound environmental leadership. 

Ghassan and A-2 Design colleagues spent weeks of pro-bono work drawing up plans for a proposed net-zero facility for the 10-acre Salona conservation easement donated to the Fairfax County Park Authority by Dan and Karen DuVal. The entire community—and beyond—would benefit from preserving and protecting the historical, cultural and agricultural significance of this pristine property.  As a result of the efforts made by Ghassan and others in our community to further pursue the possibilities for Salona, appointed representatives of McLean citizen groups are currently charged with discussing and reaching out to the community-at-large to weigh in on the future of the conservation easement. 

A faculty member at Catholic University of America’s School of Architecture since 1990, Ghassan was recently invited to co-teach a two-year design studio at the School of Architecture that will design a solar model house which is to be built in fall of 2013.  Ghassan has already started his effort in seeing that McLean be one of the hosts to display this model house as part of a traveling exhibit of the Solar Decathlon house before it reaches its final destination. 

 Ghassan is a leader in matters that are of critical importance to McLean.