U.VA. DESIGNERS WIN NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION AWARD
	FOR RAIL CORRIDOR STUDY

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 1 -- A University of Virginia
School of Architecture design team received a U.S. Department of
Transportation national award Thursday for transit oriented
community development planning for the Washington, D.C.-Richmond
rail corridor.
	Associate professor of architecture Warren Boeschenstein and
landscape architect Gary Okerlund received one of 37 Design for
Transportation National Awards for their Washington, D.C.-Richmond
Rail Corridor Study, which recommends improvements for passenger
rail service in the corridor, one of six proposed high-speed rail
routes in the nation.
	The design awards, co-sponsored by the National Endowment
for the Arts and the Department of Transportation, showcase the best
work of the country's transportation systems by recognizing
activities that exemplify the highest standards of design and
honoring those who created them.
	The U.Va. study, funded by the Virginia Department of Rail
and Public Transportation, proposes locations for 14 stations along
the corridor and the types of development that should occur around
them.  Boeschenstein and Okerlund received the 1994 Award for
Excellence in Architecture from the Virginia Society of the American
Institute of Architects for the study because of its success in
integrating transportation and land use planning.
	The recipients of this year's national design awards were
selected based on demonstrated sensitivity to the needs of the
traveling public, a concern for safety and environmental
enhancements of the community and physical surroundings.
Innovation, aesthetics and cost efficiency also served as criteria
for the awards, presented for the first time since 1981.
	Federico Pena, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, presented
the awards in Washington, D.C.
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	February 29, 1996
	For interviews about the study and about urban rail
transportation, Boeschenstein or Okerlund may be reached at the
School of Architecture at (804) 924-3715.