Two Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design students spent more than a year measuring, studying and documenting a historic home in Fayetteville.

In the end, Nate Cole and Devin Tabor compiled their research and work onto a single 22-by-30-inch sheet. Their project was awarded an honorable mention in the 2022 Leicester B. Holland Prize competition sponsored by the Library of Congress and the National Park Service last fall.

Cole and Tabor's project recorded the Richard D. and Alma Brothers House, completed in 1957 by Fay Jones. Jones, an Arkansas native, was an internationally renowned architect who practiced an organic approach to modern architecture. He was an AIA Gold Medal winner — the highest recognition given by the American Institute of Architects — as well as a U of A graduate, professor and first dean of the architecture school.

The Brothers House was originally constructed for a high-profile member of the U of A Department of Music, connecting the house to the history of the university community and the Fay Jones School.

Cole and Tabor completed the project through an independent study course with Greg Herman, associate professor of architecture. Cole is a fifth-year architecture and Honors College student. Tabor, who graduated in December 2022 with a Bachelor of Architecture, is a project designer at MAHG Architecture. They worked on the project from June 2021 until October 2022.

The annual Holland Prize competition, open to students and professionals, recognizes the best single sheet measured drawing of a historic site, structure or landscape prepared to the standards and guidelines of the Historic American Buildings Survey, Historic American Engineering Record or Historic American Landscapes Survey. The prize honors Leicester B. Holland, FAIA, who was chair of the AIA's Committee on Historic Buildings, head of the Fine Arts Division of the Library of Congress, first curator of the HABS collection, co-founder of the HABS program in the 1930s and the first chair of the HABS Advisory Board.

The prize is administered by the Heritage Documentation Programs of the National Park Service. Drawings recognized in this competition are added to the permanent collection of HABS work in the Library of Congress, where they will be searchable by name of author and project.

Herman said getting buildings on the public record is a significant way to recognize important works of architecture that may not otherwise be recognized. Documentation is valuable within architecture generally, he said, but is particularly critical in preservation work.

"By doing this work, students gain an understanding of material and how techniques have changed over time," Herman said. "Building documentation is an important component of historic preservation, and Nate and Devin's work on this project is an exemplary demonstration of the rich possibilities available to students exploring this aspect of professional practice."

An added component of this project is the detailing required. Herman said buildings should be able to be reconstructed based on the drawings — calling for a certain level of precision. In addition, using one sheet forces students to also design the sheet on which the work is submitted — creating a sheet that is both informative and visually interesting. This forces the delineator to capture the essence of the site through the presentation of key features that reflect its significance, carefully calibrating what was necessary to convey the full picture of the house.

Cole said they documented the full project, but not all of the aspects could fit on the sheet. The depth of the project was also complicated by trying to tell a story on one page.

"The discipline involved in the slow process of documenting and measuring the project taught us a lot about building construction and practicality in design," Cole said. "We had to think a lot about how the judges and other architects would look at our documentation and make sure that we were making the unique aspects of the project as obvious as possible."

As one of the earliest built works by Jones, the Brothers House exhibits many defining characteristics that became hallmarks of the architect's career. A plan-rotated square, an off-centered ridge beam, an extensive use of native stone, careful use of expressed wood components and a strong horizontal emphasis are all present in the house. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the Brothers house frame views into the adjacent forested landscape, much like in his other projects.

Similar to works of Frank Lloyd Wright, with whom Jones apprenticed, the Brothers House has a long horizontal walkway to the entrance. Jones also used a reflective gold paint in the hallway that enhances the effect of the soft lighting on the interior. The medium sized abode occupies the edge of a ridge overlooking a ravine, consistent with Wright's dictum that the building be "of the landscape, not on the landscape."

"I believe that documenting this house allowed me to grasp a much deeper understanding of the Jonesian style through the progress of detail in his drawings and attention to detail," Tabor said.

Before drawing the home digitally, the students measured the entire structure as built and recorded those measurements with pencil and paper.

"The margin for error from the construction documents to the physical construction is extremely important," Tabor said. "Buildings are full of minute errors — measuring a building by hand will teach students a lot about that."

Cole and Tabor said they refined the digital drawings for several months before compiling them onto a single sheet.

The recognized drawing shows several perspectives, including a site drawing, floor plan, cross-section with interior elements and roof section detail, all done to Historic American Buildings Survey specifications. In addition to the single-sheet drawing, students submitted their field notes, in which they recorded their findings as they measured the building. A written report on the house detailing their discoveries and the history of the house was also included with the submission.

Throughout the project, Tabor and Cole photographed the house from top to bottom, side to side, and inside and outside. Complementing the extensive photographs, they also sketched the house and made notes of details and unique situations in the construction or design. The students also interviewed current and previous owners, local architects and consulted the archives in Special Collections at Mullins Library.

"What is most important for students to realize is that there is a lot of value and importance in the surrounding area — you don't have to look far to learn a lot about architecture," Cole said.

Three previous projects done by Herman's students have won recognition in the Heritage Documentation Programs awards.

Students won first place in the 2010 Peterson Prize competition for their documentation of the Fay and Gus Jones House in Fayetteville. The Peterson Prize is similar to the Holland Prize but requires a complete set of drawings.

Student work on Deepwood House in Fayetteville, designed by Herb Fowler, a former Fay Jones School professor, earned third place in the 2016 Peterson Prize competition. 

Students' measured drawing of the Norman and Luise DeMarco House was awarded an honorable mention in the 2018 Holland Prize competition.

Jurors for this year's Holland Prize were Mari Nakahara, Ph.D., Curator of Architecture, Design, and Engineering, Library of Congress; Jennie Gwin, AIA, Principal, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners; and Robert R. Arzola, HABS Architect and Holland Prize Coordinator, Heritage Documentation Programs, National Park Service.

View the Richard D. and Alma Brothers House sheet online, and zoom in to see the details.