Fay Jones School Students Recognized in Ninth Annual Design Competition

Michelle Parks

Branden Canepa, left, and Mark Weaver, right, both of HBG Design, stand with students Ashley Wagner, Molly Evans and Derek Hukill, who created the three winning designs in the ninth annual HBG Design International Design Competition.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Three University of Arkansas students in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design created the three winning works chosen from 12 entries in the ninth annual HBG Design International Design Competition. The competition recognizes work done from international locales in the school's study abroad programs.

Molly Evans won the Award of Excellence and a $3,000 prize for her design created during her time studying abroad in Mexico City this past summer. Derek Hukill received an Award of Merit as well as a $1,500 prize for his work in Mexico City, while Ashley Wagner won Honorable Mention and a $500 prize for her work in Rome. Evans is from Conway, Wagner is from Bella Vista, and Hukill is from Kansas City, Missouri.

HBG Design, the Memphis, Tennessee, firm that also helped judge the 12 entries, awarded the $5,000 in total prize money. The firm, formerly known as Hnedak Bobo Group, recently rebranded and changed its name. Mark Weaver, a partner and principal architect with the firm is also a 1982 graduate of the Fay Jones School. Branden Canepa, a recruiter with the firm, joined Weaver at the Oct. 26 awards ceremony in the Young Gallery of Vol Walker Hall.

"HBG Design is thrilled to once again to be a part of reviewing the work that students completed during their time abroad," Mark Weaver said. "We firmly believe that travel is critical for education and inspires designs through the exposure and experiences that students receive while abroad."

"International education is essential to Fay Jones School's identity, as we are currently the only school on campus that requires an international education," said Peter MacKeith, dean of the Fay Jones School.

The task of judging the competition was a collaborative effort of the jury, which included Fay Jones School faculty members, several HBG Design representatives, and school alumni who live in the area.

Russell Rudzinski, clinical assistant professor in the Fay Jones School, led students in their Mexico City summer studio. The University of Arkansas Rome Center instructors were Francesco Bedeschi and Riccardo d'Aquino, coordinated by Davide Vitali, the center's director.

Rudzinski, director of the Latin America Urban Studio, said that this summer's studio embraced travel research and design-based research. The 10 students were able to investigate urban conditions in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, Mexico City.

For their projects, students focused on the revitalization and reconfiguration of an artisanal market in the historic district, which was a space that was originally used during the 1968 Summer Olympics. All of the designs were done by hand in the studio, and students were only allowed a select amount of pages for their work during the entire program. All of the Mexico City projects were independent proposals.

"Mexico City is a layered culture, and, by using the same six papers, the layered nature of the project represented the society itself," Evans said about her design for Escuela de Paciencia y Atención.

Winifred E. Newman, professor and head of the Department of Architecture, said the Rome projects focused on both preservation, in line with the Roman approach, and social sustainability.

Students explored the space that was once the site of the 1960 Olympics and designed proposals for how to repurpose the space in a more socially useable way. The primary challenge for the students, alongside preservation, was bringing life back into the once vibrant public space that is not currently functional.

The goal of the students' projects was to repurpose the space from the 1960 Olympics, as the city is currently bidding to host the 2024 Olympics. Not only was this a unique challenge for students, but their designs also had to propose a public use for the space once the 2024 Olympics have ended.

Fay Jones School students have been immersing themselves in the Italian culture through the school's relationship with the U of A Rome Center since 1989. The school has conducted the Latin America Urban Studio in Mexico since 1994.

About the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design: The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas houses professional design programs of architecture, landscape architecture and interior design together with liberal studies programs. All of these programs combine studio design education with innovative teaching in history, theory, technology and urban design. A broad range of course offerings equips graduates with the knowledge and critical agility required to meet the challenges of designing for a changing world. Their training prepares students with critical frameworks for design thinking that also equip them to assume leadership roles in the profession and in their communities. The school's architecture program was ranked 26th in the nation, and the 12th best program among public, land-grant universities, in the 16th Annual Survey of America's Best Architecture and Design Schools, a study conducted in 2015 by the Design Futures Council and published in DesignIntelligence. For more information visit fayjones.uark.edu.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs.