Arkansas Business City of Distinction 2011

AIA Arkansas' Design Awards program honors excellence in architecture and urban design in Arkansas. Recognizing achievement in a broad range of architectural work, the program inform the public of the breadth and value of architectural practice. The program includes the Fay Jones Gold Medal Award, the highest award the Arkansas AIA presents to members.

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Letter From AIA Arkansas President David McKee

9 months ago –

As AIA Arkansas President for 2013 it gives me great pleasure to present this year's Design Awards publication. The projects showcased within exemplify some of the best creative talent in the field of Architecture found here in Arkansas. read more >

AIA Honor Award: CALS Children's Library

9 months ago –

A new Children's Library and Learning Center is based on experiential learning, where children are educated through hands-on activities that teach life skills needed to become responsible adults. read more >

AIA Honor Award: Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School

9 months ago –

The Montessori Elementary School sits in the small triangular remainder of a site prone to flooding and houses classrooms, a conference room and a new commercial kitchen. read more >

AIA Honor Award: UALR Student Services Center

9 months ago –

A new academic center, consolidating campus administration and enrollment services, becomes a landmark gateway to campus. read more >

AIA Merit Award: Eureka Springs High School

9 months ago –

A modern, high-performance 88,000-SF multi-level high school, sculpted by the site's natural characteristics, celebrating education and community use while utilizing sustainable building materials and methods in a fun, economical and inspiring way. read more >

AIA Merit Award: Northwest Arkansas Free Health Center

9 months ago –

The Northwest Arkansas Free Health Center urgently needed a new home to house their medical and dental clinics, one that brings dignity to the underserved. read more >

AIA Merit Award: PORCH House Prefabrication

9 months ago –

The project addresses issues of sustainable design and affordability in the context of urban, inner-city America. Influenced by vernacular traditions and a specific cultural landscape, the project seeks to create experiential delight out of a small-scale design opportunity. read more >

AIA Merit Award: Vetro 1925

9 months ago –

Influenced by Italian architectural precedents, Vetro 1925 is a modern Italian restaurant built within, and respecting, an eighty-eight year old historic building. read more >

AIA Citation Award: The Creative Corridor - A Main Street Revitalization for Little Rock

9 months ago –

The Creative Corridor retrofits a four-block segment of Little Rock's endangered downtown Main Street through economic development catalyzed by the cultural arts. read more >

AIA Finalist: 28 Springs

9 months ago –

28 Springs is a new restaurant venture featuring Ozark plateau cuisine in a refurbished auto dealership. The streamlined aesthetic enlivens the space with movement and vitality. read more >

AIA Finalist: Courtyard House

9 months ago –

The Courtyard House is a pre-fabricated modular home designed and built by students, and it is a single-family, affordable house in downtown Little Rock. read more >

AIA Finalist: Epley Center for Health Professions

9 months ago –

The Epley Health Center was expanded from 20,000-SF to 40,000-SF and contains two departments, the nursing school and the center's speech and hearing clinic. read more >

AIA Finalist: HA House

9 months ago –

The HA house is a single-family residence for a retired couple relocating to the Ozark Mountains from California. read more >

AIA Finalist: Hugg & Hall Mobile Storage

9 months ago –

Containers are not just for storage anymore. A portable storage company needed a new corporate facility. An office building and shop structure was built using repurposed shipping containers in the design. This approach was both cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. read more >

AIA Finalist: Restoration and Renovation of Peabody Hall

9 months ago –

Due to its historically significant location, great care was taken to respect the site and the building's historic character while providing a state-of-the-art facility. read more >

AIA Emerging Professional Award: James Meyer of WER Architects

9 months ago –

James Meyer, Assoc. AIA, is a project designer at WER Architects in Little Rock. He is also a founding member of studioMAIN, a board member of the Architecture + Design Network, the Associate Director of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the rising Regional Associate Director for the Gulf States Region of the American Institute of Architects. read more >

AIA Award of Merit: June Biber Freeman

9 months ago –

Currently, as director of the Architecture and Design Network, June Biber Freeman oversees a series of free, public lectures by architects and design professionals. Now in its tenth season, the program she conceived and has run as a volunteer is supported in part by the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and the Arkansas Arts Center. read more >

AIA Design Awards Chair: Travis R. Bartlett of MAHG Architecture

9 months ago –

Since joining MAHG, Travis R. Bartlett has served as the project architect on many of the firm's largest projects, and has in this capacity been responsible for the coordination and scheduling of large design teams consisting of numerous specialty engineering and design consultants. read more >

AIA Judges: Juan Miró, Heather McKinney and Richard Archer

9 months ago –

These three architects served as this year's panel of judges for the AIA Arkansas Design Awards. read more >