AIA Merit Awards: SILO AR+D, Marlon Blackwell Architects, Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects

Mood Ring House

Project: Mood Ring House
Firm: SILO AR+D
Contractor: SILO AR+D
Location: Fayetteville

A live-work space, Mood Ring House consolidates work functions on the ground, with a majority of living spaces above. The small base aids in reducing the footprint, preserving existing trees, and reducing foundation costs, which are at a premium in unstable Arkansas soil. The cantilevering upper level, in concert with the dramatically sloping site, gives views to the living spaces while creating a private enclave amidst the tree canopy. Emerging from modest means, the design of Mood Ring House exceeds its limits, imagining how both exuberant and demure architectures exist within a single project, and in turn, how those architectures have distinct character and form.

Owner/Client: Kalli Vimr
Project Team: Marc Manack, AIA, Principal;
Joseph Weishaar; Esteban Ayala; Thomas Geeslin; Ethan Werkmeister
Consultants: Don Johnston PE
Photographer: Timothy Hursley

Project: Srygley Poolhouse
Firm: Marlon Blackwell Architects
Contractor: Blessings Construction Inc.
Location: Springdale

The Srygley Pool House is wrapped in subdued cedar siding, allowing the seemingly foreign form to coexist with the surrounding brick and cedar residences. The lower level opens up onto the pool terrace, establishing a transparent base that allows visitors to flow freely from outside to inside. This transparency and the volume of the living room that extends up to the second level allows the building to feel larger than itself. The subdued gesture of the building form is juxtaposed with a landscape of plants, bushes, and trees that is inhabited by ceramic alligators, carved stone birds, and an imposing 3,000-pound dinosaur. However, the relatively wild backyard seems the perfect setting for the Pool House. They work as opposites often do: the building calms the wild landscape and together they provide a place of refuge and retreat.

Owner/Client: Bob Srygley
Project Team: Marlon Blackwell, FAIA;
Meryati Johari Blackwell, AIA; William Burks, Assoc. AIA
Consultants: Myers-Beatty Engineering, PLLC
Photographer: Timothy Hursley

Project: University Housing
Firm: Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects
Contractor: The Cone Group
Location: Fayetteville

The University of Arkansas needed a dedicated facility for housing administration due to its rapid enrollment growth. At about 20,000-SF, the building contains 40 private offices, five open office areas, and four large meeting rooms. The design integrates numerous “touchdown” spaces throughout the building to foster an environment of social and collaborative interchange. While the building serves an administrative function, a primary goal was for it to serve as a welcome center for students and families visiting the campus. Public entry porches are carved from the building, creating a more intimate entry that’s inviting for pedestrians, yet shielded from neighboring structures. The edge of this incision – realized in plan and section – is defined by a folded ribbon of zinc that runs uninterrupted from the south entry to the east facade. A continuous ribbon of blue tinted glass repeats this concept at interior public spaces. Though not authorized for certification, the building integrates numerous sustainable attributes and features.

Owner/Client: University of Arkansas
Project Team: Wesley Walls, AIA; Craig Curzon, AIA; Jack Reilly, AIA; Sam Annable, AIA; Laura Lyon, ASID; Kim Prescott, ASID
Consultants: Development Consultants Inc., Engineering Consultants Inc., TME Inc., Viridian
Photographer: Timothy Hursley