Fennell Purifoy Hammock Architects PLC

Fennell Purifoy Hammock Architects has won more design awards over the past few years than any other Arkansas firm, large or small.

That alone says a lot about the firm. It says even more when those awards went to a small firm that has found its niche in community-oriented projects — affordable housing, historic redevelopment, churches, academic buildings and libraries. It also takes on a limited number of single-family homes each year.

The firm does very little commercial or retail work but has found there can be great diversity even within its small chosen niche. The University of Arkansas system is the firm’s largest client.

Among its recent projects are the Arkansas Public Transit Safety and Resource Center and the Dee Brown Library, both of which won design awards, as well as the Westside Lofts (the former Westside Junior High), Eastside Lofts (the former Eastside Junior High) and Kramer School, which is now the home of an artist cooperative.

The three principals have a strong commitment to neighborhood revitalization. Their goal is not only sustainable architecture, which provides energy savings, but responsible architecture that addresses how the design can best meet the long-term business needs of the client.

The key to the success of the firm, said Tom Fennell, is to constantly reinvent it and continue to reinvest in it. The bottom line, said Philip Purifoy, is that “we must work harder.”

Satisfaction, Purifoy said, comes from transforming a sketch on paper into something in which people can live and work.

Established in 1985, the firm employs 10 people. Fennell, Purifoy and their third partner, Randy Hammock, have four architectural interns.

In 2001 they established a sub-company, Interior Designs Associates, to smooth out revenue during times when there’s little new construction.

With its growing reputation, however, the firm’s revenue growth has outpaced the national industry average for the past three years.

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