Fay Jones School, Design Center Win Awards From Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture

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The Cantilever House was part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture’s Urban Prefab Initiative (Photo by Timothy Hursley)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Fay Jones School of Architecture and the University of Arkansas Community Design Center recently received national accolades from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture for its design/build program and a Main Street revitalization plan.

The Fay Jones School won a 2013-14 ACSA Collaborative Practice Award for the Urban Prefab Initiative. This program was one of four selected this year for this award, which honors the best practices in school-based community outreach programs.

The initiative includes three houses created in the school’s design/build studios during the 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 academic years. After the houses were built, or prefabricated in the school’s warehouse in south Fayetteville, they were taken by truck to Little Rock and assembled in the city’s historic Pettaway neighborhood. The school worked with the Downtown Little Rock Community Development Corp. for this initiative, which was intended to provide affordable housing.

The project team included Michael Hughes, Mark Wise and Craig Peacock, all former architecture faculty members. Students who worked on the first house were Lianne Collier, Jack Doherty, Kevin Hayre, Kelly Jackson, Nick Walker, Brad West, Ryan Wojcicki, Ben Bendall, Elizabeth Beall, Stephanie Foster, James Swann, Addison Bliss, Jerome Tomlin, Josh Matthews, Chase Pitner, Enrique Colcha, Long Dinh, Eric Hobbs, Cesar Larrain, Michael Lyons and William Masino.

Students who worked on the second house were Addison Bliss, Adrienne Presley, Benjamin Bendal, Benjamin Kueck, Ginger Traywick, James Swann, Jerome Tomlin, Michael Lyons, Melissa Zuniga, Matthew Poe, Sam Annable, McConnell Bobo, Augusto Larrain, Carson Nelsen, Erica Blansit, Joseph Gamblin, Tanner Sutton and William Masino.

Students who worked on the third house were Adam Stevinson, Armando Rios, Ben Kueck, William Masino, McConnell Bobo, Brandon Ruhl, Daniel Peurifoy, Elsa Lo, Erica Blansit, Jake Newsum, Jason Clem, Joey Gamblin, Matt Poe, Michael Lyons, Ryan Campbell, Sean Paquin and Tanner Sutton.

Pettaway Neighborhood Main Street Revitalization Plan by U of ACommunity Design Center. (Image courtesy UA Community Design Center)

The Pettaway Neighborhood Main Street Revitalization Plan earned the Community Design Center a 2013-14 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture/American Institute of Architects Housing Design Education Award. The project was one of three this year to win this award, which recognizes the importance of good education in housing design to produce architects ready for practice in a wide range of areas and able to be capable leaders and contributors to their communities.

The Community Design Center is an outreach program of the Fay Jones School.

This Pettaway plan was a design based on balancing individual and community interests through a mix of residential and commercial spaces to revive a six-block section of Main Street in Little Rock. Students studied the ways the scale of buildings, frontages, building groupings, right-of-way characteristics and transportation modes all combine to create a distinct public realm and cultural form.

They created fully developed architectural projects that fit within an urban design plan for the six-block-long Main Street District. They also created distinct architectural typologies within the master plan – including a corner duplex, duplex infill, single-family infill, walk-up units above retail space and apartments above retail space. These new housing types would form a strong pedestrian link between the Pettaway neighborhood and the Main Street District.

Winning projects were featured at the 102^nd annual meeting of the ACSA, held April 10-12 in Miami Beach, Fla. All award winners will be published in the forthcoming 2013-14 Architecture Education Awards Book.

More information about the 2013-14 awards is available at Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture website.