News & Notices

For the first time in the history of the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG), three corpse flowers (Amorphophallus titanum) are about to bloom at the USBG Conservatory.

To mark the centennial of America entering the Great War, the Architect of the Capitol recreated a War Garden as it would have been during World War I. These gardens, also referred to as Victory Gardens, were vegetable, fruit and herbs planted at private residences, public parks, school yards, etc.

The Architect of the Capitol has been awarded a 2017 John Russell Pope Award for Historic Preservation for the U.S. Capitol Dome Restoration Project. The award recognize excellence in classical architecture, artisanship, interior design and landscape architecture.

The U.S. Capitol Grounds was recently named an accredited arboretum. The grounds are now listed in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a comprehensive list of arboreta and public gardens that have a substantial focus on woody plants for the benefit of the public, science and conservation.

This morning, Architect of the Capitol Stephen T. Ayers, FAIA, LEED AP, announced that the first comprehensive restoration of the Capitol Dome in more than half a century is complete. 

The Honorable Stephen T. Ayers, FAIA, LEED AP, Architect of the Capitol, joined members of the Dome Restoration team to attach the final restored ornament, a rosette, to the U.S. Capitol Dome.

The Architect of the Capitol is pleased to reopen the U.S. Capitol's Rotunda following the successful completion of its restoration. Tradesmen and experts from historic preservation officers to engineers, craftsmen and painters worked day and night to restore this hallowed space.

Less than 48 hours after Winter Storm Jonas began dumping snow from the skies over Washington, D.C., Architect of the Capitol crews successfully removed snow to make ​miles of sidewalks, streets and drives and 20 acres of plazas and parking lots accessible for the U.S. Capitol community.

The U.S. Botanic Garden's "Morning at the Museum" program provides museum access for individuals with cognitive and sensory-processing disabilities by providing pre-visit preparation materials, a calmer visitation period for registered participants and a welcoming quiet "take-a-break" space.

The Library of Congress' Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation facility (Packard Campus) located in Culpeper, Virginia, recently received the Virginia Water Environment Association's (VWEA) Gold Environmental Excellence Award for Industrial Waste and Pretreatment.

The recently dedicated Hart Senate Office Building solar panel system is one of the largest federal systems in the Washington, D.C. area. The system furthers the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) commitment to sustainable and cost-efficient energy reduction measures.