AIA ARKANSAS ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF DESIGN AWARDS, CHAPTER AWARDS

AIA ARKANSAS ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF DESIGN AWARDS, CHAPTER AWARDS

AIA Arkansas members and their projects received Design Awards and Chapter Awards at the recent State Convention in Hot Springs. A jury of practicing architects from Alabama selected the 2023 AIA Arkansas Design Award winners.

Here is information on the winning projects and individuals. For more details and a look at all the Design Award entries, please click here to see the publication produced by Arkansas Money and Politics magazine.

Honor Awards

ARTS ON MAIN

The relocation of the Center for Art and Education to downtown Van Buren is designed to showcase the arts while contributing to the revitalization of historic Main Street. The design melded the program requirements for art education and gallery space with the requirements for restoring the buildings to their original historic appearance.

FIRM: MAHG Architecture, Inc.

CONTRACTOR: Beshears Construction, Inc.

LOCATION: Van Buren

OWNER/CLIENT: Arts on Main

THADEN SCHOOL WHEELS BUILDING

“A private school with a public purpose,” Thaden School is a new independent middle and high school in Bentonville. Home to the signature Wheels program, the Wheels Building creates a public presence for the school by linking the campus to the Bentonville Square. Covered areas extend student workspaces out of the building, connecting with the outdoors and displaying activity to the campus and the community.

FIRM: Marlon Blackwell Architects

CONTRACTOR: Milestone Construction Co.

LOCATION: Bentonville

OWNER/CLIENT: Thaden School

Merit Awards

ENGLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

This new elementary school facility embodies the essence of its location, represents the spirit of an agricultural-based community and overcomes various challenges, thereby setting new benchmarks in educational infrastructure. With a focus on sustainability, functionality and student encouragement, England Elementary School emerges as a testament to the sym­biotic relationship between educational architecture and contextual environments.

FIRM: Modus Studio

CONTRACTOR: Kinco Constructors

LOCATION: England

OWNER/CLIENT: England School District

PINE BLUFF MAIN LIBRARY

City leaders and citizens wanted a place that pointed to a future that “lifted expec­tations.” What emerged was a community-embedded supportive learning center, offering not only books, but also a performance space, a teaching kitchen, recording studios, café (coming soon) and computer training for adults and youth.

FIRM: Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects

ADDITIONAL FIRM: Reed Architectural Firm

CONTRACTOR: East Harding Construction

LOCATION: Pine Bluff

OWNER/CLIENT: Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Library System

THADEN SCHOOL PERFORMANCE BUILDING

With direct connections from the stage to the back of the house, the performance hall is a versatile and professional venue for creative performance. The allocation of space advances the school’s mission and identity as a stage for improvisation, experimentation and imagination.

FIRM: Marlon Blackwell Architects

CONTRACTOR: Nabholz Construction

LOCATION: Bentonville

OWNER/CLIENT: Thaden School

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS WINDGATE STUDIO AND DESIGN CENTER

The Windgate Studio + Design Center seeks to remove limitations through the creation of an open, flexible, and spatially rich environment. Studio spaces are tailored to provide the resources and characteristics necessary for students and faculty to fully realize their ambitions.

FIRM: MAHG Architecture, Inc.

ADDITIONAL FIRM: HGA (Hammel, Green & Abrahamson)

CONTRACTOR: Clark Contractors, LLC

LOCATION: Fayetteville

OWNER/CLIENT: The University of Arkansas

Citation Awards

BENTONVILLE EAST CENTRAL HOTEL

Inspired by the nearby national forest and scenic riverway, the hotel embraces a biophilic design that seamlessly connects the outdoors with the interior spaces. The integration of natural elements takes center stage, featuring native wood species, abundant native plants, and subtle water features.

FIRM: BRR Architecture

ADDITIONAL FIRM: Marvel Architecture

CONTRACTOR: Caddell Construction

LOCATION: Bentonville

OWNER/CLIENT: Blue Crane

NW ARKANSAS ARTIST HOUSING AND RESIDENCY PROGRAM

The apartments are spacious one-bedroom units, large enough to allow for open workspace for the artist residents. The 12 separate live-work units are raised over a double-height work flexible space, which provides workspace, galleries and maker spaces serving the public and augmenting the facilities of a nearby contemporary art center.

FIRM: Kevin Daly Architects

LOCATION: Bentonville

OWNER/CLIENT: Confidential

People’s Choice Award

JIM D. ROLLINS SCHOOL OF INNOVATION

Located on the border of growing Northwest Arkansas, the Jim Rollins Elementary School of Innovation’s shed-like forms, scale and materials echo the agrarian sense of the region and reimagines the “idea of school,” by putting education on display, inviting exploration, collaboration and promoting student agency.

FIRM: WDD Architects

CONTRACTOR: Flintco Construction

LOCATION: Springdale

Members’ Choice Award

LITTLE ROCK POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS

The Little Rock Police Department Headquarters is a glass and steel addition and renovation to the 1921 brick and concrete structure of the McFadden Building across the street from the previous headquarters. Designed to convey a modern police force image, the goal was to distinctively layer the façade to provide openness and natural lighting from the glass, but with a perforated metal cladding and sunshades that give a distinctive “armored” look.

FIRM: WDD Architects

CONTRACTOR: Baldwin & Shell Construction Co.

LOCATION: Little Rock

Chapter Awards

Fay Jones Gold Medal Award: The Fay Jones Gold Medal Award was given posthumously to Michael Lejong, AIA, formerly of Greenwood. He represented AIA Arkansas and the architecture community on many levels throughout his career. His service and leadership led to numerous professional accomplishments and awards. The award recognizes an individual architect who demonstrates touchstones of excellence through artistic vision and design, leadership and service to the state of Arkansas and the AIA Arkansas Chapter. Excellence is measured not only by the mark of architectural and individual achievement, but through the esteem and regard held for the architect by professional practitioners and the community as a whole.

Emerging Professionals/Young Architects Award – Nate Deason, AIA, associate principal at Fort Smith-based MAHG Architecture. An ardent advocate for the architecture profession, he has served AIA Arkansas in a number of ways and is currently on the Executive Committee.

Dick Savage Memorial Award – Patty Opitz, AIA, associate principal at Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects. She exemplifies the servant leadership that is at the heart of this award.

Diversity Award – Alison Turner, AIA, a teaching assistant professor of architecture and director of community education at the Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design at the University of Arkansas. She has long focused on educating K-12 students about design and has been teaching summer design camps since 2009.

Michael Lejong Leadership Award – Jonathan Opitz, AIA. A former chapter president, he has been in involved with AIA on state, regional and national levels and shares many of the attributes that made Lejong such an outstanding leader and mentor.