by Ryan Nix
The Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas has garnered international acclaim, with both its Community Design Center and faculty-led Somewhere Studio winning honorable mentions in the Architect’s Newspaper’s (AN) annual Best of Design awards. Architecture’s answer to the Oscars, the 2019 AN Best of Design Awards received more than 800 entries from the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The Community Design Center’s renderings and unbuilt designs were recognized in two categories: Their University of Arkansas Center for Farm and Food System Entrepreneurship won honorable mention in the Unbuilt-Education category; their proposed 7Hills Homeless Day Center also took honorable mention in the Unbuilt-Public category.
The Somewhere Studio, led by University of Arkansas professors Jessical Colangelo and Charles Sharpless were given an honorable mention in the Temporary Installation category for Salvage Swings, a New York installation meant to show the potential to recycle construction by-products and waste materials to build temporary pavilions. Salvage Swing’s focus on public spaces, sustainability and multi-use modularity previously won first place in Figment NYC’s 2019 City of Dreams International Pavilion Competition.
Other Arkansas architectural organizations were featured in AN’s Best of Design, including Studio Gang, which took first place in the Unbuilt-Cultural category for their work in reimagining Little Rock’s Arkansas Arts Center. Modus Studio also graced AN’s pages, winning Editor’s Pick in the Cultural category for the Evans Tree House in Hot Springs.
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