Super Mover: Marlon Blackwell

Marlon Blackwell has received the 2012 Arts & Letters Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts & Letters.

Background: Blackwell is head of the of the architecture department in the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and is the owner and founder of Marlon Blackwell Architect of Fayetteville which opened in 1990.

Experience: Blackwell has designed many structures, including the museum store at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Fayetteville High School and the Steven L. Anderson Design Center on the UA campus. Princeton Architectural Press has published a monograph of his work.

Award: The Academy of Arts & Letters was established in 1898 to "foster, assist and sustain an interest in literature, music and the fine arts." Blackwell is the 60th person to receive the award in architecture since it was instituted in 1991. The award recognizes American architects whose work is "characterized by a strong personal direction." n