Robert Winstead

Robert Winstead (Arch ’91 L/M) is principal of SHW Group, a national planning, architecture and engineering firm focused on the design of learning environments. He is the design leader of the new Charlottesville studio, which was founded in May 2008. As the firm’s director of sustainable design, Mr. Winstead is responsible for the integration of environmentally sensitive and high performance building strategies into projects throughout the firm. He is active in national conversation on sustainable design and particularly in high-performance schools. He is a guest at many regional and national conferences and is a Green School Advocate, a select group of professionals working with the U.S. Green Building Council to promote healthy, high-performance schools across the country. He represents SHW on the American Institute of Architects Large-Firm Roundtable on Sustainable Design. Mr. Winstead is also the co-designer of the Community Chalkboard and Podium: A Monument to Free Expression in Charlottesville. The project has garnered a number of awards, including a 2007 VSAIA Award, a 2007 Virginia ASLA Award and a 2009 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. Another project of his, the Manassas Park Upper Elementary School and Pre-K Addition, designed while at VMDO Architects, is pursuing LEED Gold Certification and was awarded the 2008 GoGreen Honor Award by the James River Green Building Chapter. The Poquoson Elementary School, also designed while at VMDO Architects, is pursuing LEED gold certification and was awarded the 2006 GoGreen Honor Award, a 2007 DesignShare Recognized Value Award, a 2007 CEFPI Design Award and the 2009 Green Innovation Award for Best Institutional Project K-12 by the Virginia Sustainable Building Network. He is currently working on a LEED platinum project designed to generate as much energy as it uses on an annual basis. He lives in Charlottesville with his wife and two children.