Twelve Projects Recognized in Fay Jones School's 2024 Alumni Design Awards Competition
Chris Brown, a U of A architecture alumnus, won an Honor Award in Architecture for the Tonal House in Portland, Oregon, in the 2024 Fay Jones School Alumni Design Awards competition. Brown is with Observation Studio in Portland.
The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the U of A recently honored the innovative design work of its alumni during the school's Winter Fest Reception and Alumni Recognition Ceremony, held Jan. 17 in Vol Walker Hall on the university campus. During the event, Golden Graduates and Awards for Distinction recipients also were recognized.
Designs for community, educational, cultural, tourism, residential, adaptive reuse, religious, retail, hospitality, recreational, corporate and governmental spaces, as well as urban planning and landscape design projects, were among 45 projects vying for recognition in the 2024 Fay Jones School Alumni Design Awards competition.
Entries came from Fay Jones School alumni practicing in cities around the state of Arkansas, as well as in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. A six-member jury chose 12 projects for accolades — resulting in one Honor Award, four Merit Awards and seven Citation Awards.
"The success of Fay Jones School alumni in regional, national and international contexts is reflected in these alumni design awards," said Peter MacKeith, dean of the school. "We take great pride in our alumni accomplishments, but moreover, our students take great encouragement for their own futures from these examples of alumni practice and design excellence."
Ken McCown, professor and department head of landscape architecture, served as jury chair for the design awards competition. Dan Wheeler, FAIA, founding principal of Wheeler Kearns Architects in Chicago, Illinois, and professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, served as an external evaluator. Fellow jury members included faculty members Jose Pertierra-Arrojo, visiting assistant professor of practice in architecture, and Rachel Tucci, teaching assistant professor in interior architecture and design. Fay Jones School alumni Carl Kernodle (B.Arch. '91) and Katherine Lashley (B.Arch. '16) also served on the jury.
Wheeler said he was impressed to see the range of design types eligible for the school's alumni awards program — from architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, historic preservation, urban planning, unbuilt projects and work that overlays with supporting the public good.
"During the jury debate, we acknowledged the sense of accomplishment through all the projects; however, the ones that bubbled up in our opinion were ones that exhibited rigor, a sense of a combination of reason and craft," Wheeler said. "I contend that there is no architecture without reason, and there's no architecture without craft. They have to be combined. And there were a number of projects that did that, and one emphatically, and I think that is where the jury resolved the Honor Award."
Chris Brown (B.Arch. '03) won an Honor Award in Architecture for the Tonal House in Portland, Oregon. Brown is with Observation Studio in Portland. This project exemplifies restraint and celebrates local craft. With views of Mount St. Helens and the Portland city center, the house gestures toward both with large, alternating openings. Each level integrates with the environment, increasing in scale while descending into the forest. The project balances the local and the universal, combining materials and skills from local manufacturers and craftspeople with a timeless approach to form. The foundation and primary walls are sustainably sourced, constructed from insulated concrete form blocks produced less than 100 miles away.
"The designers beautifully integrate site, building and detail using an innovative Faswall block building system," the jury said. "The house's masses, forms and openings create a fantastic dialogue that creates a sense of tension while keeping an overall feeling of balance."
Amanda Burcham (M.Des. '23, B.I.D. '14), Sarah McElroy (B.Arch. '01), Josh Siebert (B.Arch. '02) and Chris M. Baribeau (B.Arch. '03) won a Merit Award in Architecture for the Greenland School District Administration Office. The design team is with Modus Studio in Fayetteville. This design honors the mid-century architecture of the existing campus while creating a community beacon and healthy workspace for the district's administration. Its two-sided entry celebrates both a pedestrian approach and conventional automobile arrivals.
"This small project is very well done. It feels cohesive, and none of the elements seem out of place," the jury said. "The design language from steel, brick, glass and concrete materials is consistent inside and outside."
S. Austin Ward (B.Arch. '13) won a Merit Award in Regional and Urban Design for the Downtown Cary Park in Cary, North Carolina. Ward is with Machado Silvetti in Boston, Massachusetts. It features indoor and outdoor event spaces, a concert and performance area, food and beverage options (including a market and bar), public restrooms, and staff and operations support areas. The outdoor spaces are made to accommodate concerts, festivals, food trucks and educational programs.
"This project has a unique and fun character," the jury said. "Dedicating one formal language throughout the project facilitates several interesting spaces."
David W. McKee (B.Arch. '82) won a Merit Award in Historic Preservation for the Richard and Alma Brothers Residence Restoration in Fayetteville. McKee is with McKee Properties LLC in Fayetteville. This 1956 E. Fay Jones-designed mid-century modern home was recently restored to preserve and refurbish the defining elements of Jones' organic architecture. Initially uninhabitable, the residence required complete system replacements and a new roof after 66 years. Extensive site work was undertaken to restore and protect this historic home.
"This is an extremely well-executed example of residential historic preservation with a faithful response to Fay Jones' work," the jury said.
Nick Ryan (B.Arch. '20) won a Merit Award in Unbuilt for Tower 14 in De Smet, South Dakota. This was an independent project for Ryan. The town of De Smet plans to integrate Highway 14 as the gateway to its new observation tower and trail system, offering ideal vantage points for observing the area's historic natural features. The elevator core of Tower 14 doubles as an illuminated beacon, with wood and polycarbonate materials enhancing its durability.
"This project is compelling," the jury said. "The composition with bold forms and proportions and attention to materials and details give this project a powerful presence."
Calli Verkamp (B.Arch. '13) won a Citation Award in Architecture for Galien River Retreat in New Buffalo, Michigan. Verkamp is with Wheeler Kearns Architects in Chicago.
Joey Gamblin (B.Arch. '12) won a Citation Award in Architecture for Maricopa County Southeast Justice Center in Mesa, Arizona. Gamblin is with Multistudio in Phoenix, Arizona.
Joiner Dotson (B.L.A. '22), Shannon Norman (B.L.A. '09) and Reva Meeks (B.Arch. '08) won a Citation Award in Landscape Architecture for Underwood Park Master Plan in Fayetteville. The design team is with the Ecological Design Group in Rogers.
Joey Hamm (B.Arch. '14) won a Citation Award in Interior Architecture and Design for Jarrett Middle School in Springfield, Missouri. Hamm is with Dake Wells Architecture in Springfield, Missouri.
Mary Nell Miskin (B.L.A. '15), Shannon Norman (B.L.A. '09) and Tanner Weeks (B.L.A. '98) won a Citation Award in Regional and Urban Design for ArtCourt in Fayetteville. The design team is with the Ecological Design Group in Rogers.
Adam Day (B.Arch. '08) and Kyle Heflin (B.Arch. '15) won a Citation Award in Historic Preservation for LA Davis Student Union Renovation in Pine Bluff. The design team is with AMR Architects in Little Rock.
Kyle Heflin (B.Arch. '15) won a Citation Award for Public Good for Argenta Parklets in North Little Rock. Heflin is with AMR Architects in Little Rock.
Contacts
Michelle Parks, senior director of communications and marketing
Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design
479-575-4704, mparks17@uark.edu