Quinn Evans Principal Designed Dozens of Educational and Civic Facilities in Virginia
Quinn Evans has announced that Robert E. Comet, Jr., AIA, LEED AP, a principal with Quinn Evans, has retired after an architectural career that spanned more than 40 years with numerous award-winning projects throughout Virginia.
A 2002 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Comet spent his entire career based in Richmond where he oversaw dozens of high-profile planning and design projects for school systems, local and state government agencies, churches, and non-profit organizations. A founding partner of BCWH Architects, he served as president of the firm until it merged with Quinn Evans in late 2018. The merger enabled Comet to share his design expertise, including complex renovation and historic preservation work, with Quinn Evans teams throughout the firm’s six offices in the mid-Atlantic and upper Midwest.
Comet currently serves as president of the Capitol Square Preservation Council in Richmond. He is also active in Richmond’s Communities in School organization and the Historic Richmond Foundation. He has completed challenging restoration and historic preservation projects at such landmark properties as the Virginia State Capitol, the Virginia War Memorial, Hollywood Cemetery, the Science Museum of Virginia, and the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Relations.
Comet has completed numerous school design, expansion, and renovation projects, working with both public school systems as well as private schools. He directed the development of the Richmond City Public Schools System-Wide Facilities Master Plan. He has also completed several office renovation and restoration projects for the Virginia Department of General Services and local municipalities.
Comet’s past community involvement has included serving on the board of directors of the Maymount Foundation, the Richmond City Planning Commission, the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Advisory Board of Directors, the Boy Scouts of America Heart of Virginia Council, and the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School Foundation.
Comet holds a Master of Architecture (1979) from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia (1976). He is a member of the AIA and a LEED Accredited Professional with the U.S. Green Building Council.
“Rob’s career has had an incredible impact on Richmond and communities across the Commonwealth of Virginia,” says Charles Piper, AIA, LEED AP, a principal with Quinn Evans. “He has modeled genuine servant leadership in our company and been active in the growth and development of so many of his colleagues. His leadership is also evident in his service to school and government clients and in the extraordinary commitments he has made in serving and guiding a host of critical civic and non-profit organizations.”
About Quinn Evans
Quinn Evans provides services in architecture, planning, urban revitalization, and historic preservation, including sustainable preservation and stewardship. Established in 1984, the firm has more than 200 professionals in six office locations in Washington, D.C.; Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin; Baltimore, Maryland; and Richmond, Virginia. Nationally ranked in its sustainability practice, Quinn Evans is a charter signatory of the AIA 2030 Commitment and a member of the Center for the Built Environment.
Quinn Evans specializes in cultural, institutional, commercial, and educational projects, including museums, historic parks, theaters, mixed-use buildings, schools and campus facilities, libraries, and civic landmarks. Current projects for the firm include the modernization of the National Air and Space Museum and the renovation and design of undercroft space at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.; renovation of the Old City Hall and Virginia Commonwealth University’s new STEM building in Richmond, Va.; and redevelopment of Baltimore’s Penn Station. Quinn Evans was selected by Ford to design the restoration and adaptive use of the landmark Michigan Central Station in Detroit. Projects in Detroit also include the restoration of the historic Wurlitzer Building; the renovation of 985 Michigan Avenue for the U.S. General Services Administration; and the documentation of 20th-century African American civil rights sites in the city of Detroit for the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office in association with the Detroit Historic Designation Advisory Board. For more information, visit www.quinnevans.com.