AIA Arkansas Announces 2023 Design Award Winners

Thaden School's Wheels building in Bentonville. (AIA)

During its annual convention in Hot Springs, the Arkansas chapter of the American Institute of Architects announced the 2023 AIA Arkansas Design Award Winners.

This year’s winners include:

Honor Awards

• Arts on Main

The relocation of the Center for Art and Education to downtown Van Buren is designed to showcase the arts while contributing to the revitalization of historic Main Street. The design melded the program requirements for art education and gallery space with the requirements for restoring the buildings to their original historic appearance.

Firm: MAHG Architecture Inc.
Contractor: Beshears Construction Inc.
Location: Van Buren
Owner/Client: Arts on Main

• Thaden School Wheels Building

Thaden School is a new independent middle and high school in Bentonville. Home to the signature Wheels program, the Wheels Building creates a public presence for the school by linking the campus to Bentonville Square. Covered areas extend student workspaces out of the building, connecting with the outdoors and displaying activity to the campus and the community.

Firm: Marion Blackwell Architects
Contractor: Milestone Construction Co.
Location: Bentonville
Owner/Client: Thaden School

Merit Awards

•  England Elementary School

The new elementary school embodies the essence of its location, represents the spirit of an agricultural-based community and overcomes various challenges, setting new benchmarks in educational infrastructure. England Elementary School emerges as a testament to the symbiotic relationship between educational architecture and contextual environments.

Firm: Modus Studio
Contractor: Kinco Constructors
Location: England
Owner/Client: England School Districts

• Pine Bluff Main Library

City leaders and citizens wanted a place that pointed to a future that “lifted expectations.” What emerged was a community-embedded supportive learning center, offering not only books, but also a performance space, a teaching kitchen, recording studios, café, and a computer training center for adults and youth.

Firm: Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects
Additional Firm: Reed Architectural Firm
Contractor: East Harding Construction
Location: Pine Bluff
Owner/Client: Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Library System

• Thaden School Performance Building

With direct connections from the stage to the back of the house, the performance hall is a versatile and professional venue for creative performance. The allocation of space advances the school’s mission and identity as a stage for improvisation, experimentation and imagination.

Firm: Marlon Blackwell Architects
Contractor: Nabholz Construction
Location: Bentonville
Owner/Client: Thaden School

• University of Arkansas Windgate Studio and Design Center

The Windgate Studio + Design Center seeks to remove limitations through the creation of an open, flexible, and spatially rich environment. Studio spaces are tailored to provide the resources and characteristics necessary for students and faculty to fully realize their ambitions.

Firm: MAHG Architecture, Inc.
Additional Firm: Hammel, Green & Abrahamson
Contractor: Clark Contractors, LLC
Location: Fayetteville
Owner/Client: The University of Arkansas

Citation Awards

• Bentonville East Central Hotel

Inspired by the national forest and scenic riverway, the hotel embraces a biophilic design that seamlessly connects the outdoors with the interior spaces. The integration of natural elements takes center stage, featuring native wood species, abundant native plants, and subtle water features.

Firm: BRR Architecture
Additional Firm: Marvel Architecture
Contractor: Caddell Construction
Location: Bentonville
Owner/Client: Blue Crane

• NW Arkansas Artist Housing and Residency Program

The apartments are spacious one-bedroom units, large enough to allow for open workspace for the artist residents. The 12 separate live-work units are raised over a double-height work flexible space, which provides workspace, galleries and maker spaces serving the public and augmenting the facilities of a nearby contemporary art center.

Firm: Kevin Daly Architects
Location: Bentonville
Owner/Client: Confidential

People’s Choice Award

• Jim D. Rollins School of Innovation

Located on the border of growing northwest Arkansas, the Jim Rollins Elementary School of Innovation’s shed-like forms, scale, and materials echo the agrarian sense of the region and reimagines the “idea of school,” by putting education on display, inviting exploration, collaboration, and promoting student agency.

Firm: WDD Architects
Contractor: Flintco Construction
Location: Springdale

Members’ Choice Award

• Little Rock Police Department Headquarters

The Little Rock Police Department Headquarters is a glass and steel addition and renovation to the 1921 brick and concrete structure of the McFadden Building across the street from the previous headquarters. Designed to convey a modern police force image, the goal was to distinctively layer the façade to provide openness and natural lighting from the glass, but with a perforated metal cladding and sunshades that give a distinctive “armored” look.

Firm: WDD Architects
Contractor: Baldwin & Shell Construction Co.
Location: Little Rock