Ken Anderson / Photo courtesy Ken Anderson Pope-Leighey House / Courtesy Wikipedia

National Gallery East Wing / Courtesy Matthew Bisanz via Wikipedia The Source / Courtesy Wolfgang Puck

Ken Anderson is a senior associate in the Washington, D.C. office of RNL, a multi-disciplinary design firm that specializes in sustainable construction and integrated design. He holds a degree in architectural history from the University of Virginia and a M.Arch. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Best Historic Architecture
Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey House
It’s about 25 minutes outside of DC, but the The Pope-Leighey House’s story (from its origins to its preservation is fascinating). The house is an excellent example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian homes, which were designed for middle-income Americans. Although the home has been moved twice, its current location perfectly highlights Wright’s desire to connect interior and exterior spaces. Built in the early 1940s, the house is an early example of passive solar heating, natural cooling and ventilation, natural lighting, and radiant-floor heating. It’s both of its time and amazingly relevant today.

National Gallery of Art, East Wing
The East Wing of the National Gallery is a natural on any must-see list for Washington, D.C. The precision of the massive walls in I.M. Pei’s design are a powerful contrast to the light-filled, open interior of the museum.

Best Restaurant
The Source by Wolfgang Puck at the Newseum
Visitors to enjoy clean, contemporary lines comfortably balanced by the warmth of the restaurant’s lighting and unabashedly exquisite fare. As a part of the Newseum, The Source is both a complement to the interactive, modern museum to news and a respite from the bustling activity around the city.