Marlon Blackwell Architects Wins 2016 National Design Award

Saint Nicholas Eastern Orthodox Church. (Springdale, Arkansas, 2010) Photo: Timothy Hursley

Moore Honeyhouse. (Cashiers, North Carolina, 1998). Photo: Richard Johnson

Porchdog House. (Biloxi, Mississippi, 2009). Photo: Timothy Hursley

Fayetteville Montessori School, including Montessori Elementary (2012) and Montessori Primary (2015). (Fayetteville, Arkansas). Photo: Timothy Hursley

Keenan Towerhouse. (Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2000). Photo: Timothy Hursley

Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion, Indianapolis Museum of Art. (Indianapolis, Indiana, 2010). Photo: Timothy Hursley

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Museum Store. (Bentonville, Arkansas, 2011). Photo: Timothy Hursley

Blessings Golf Clubhouse. (Johnson, Arkansas, 2005). Photo: Timothy Hursley

Vol Walker Hall and the Steven L. Anderson Design Center. University of Arkansas. (Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2013). Photo: Timothy Hursley

Gentry Public Library. (Gentry, Arkansas, 2007). Photo: Timothy Hursley

Photo by Mark Jackson/CHROMA

Marlon Blackwell is principal and founder of Marlon Blackwell Architects, which has won a 2016 National Design Award from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Marlon Blackwell Architects in Fayetteville has received a 2016 National Design Award from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The design firm was recognized “for exceptional and exemplary work in” Architecture Design for its body of work.

Marlon Blackwell is principal and founder of Marlon Blackwell Architects, based in Fayetteville. Blackwell, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, is the E. Fay Jones Chair in Architecture and a Distinguished Professor in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas.

This is the 17th annual National Design Awards, a nationwide awards program honoring lasting achievement in American design. First launched at the White House in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, the annual awards program celebrates design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world, and seeks to increase national awareness of the impact of design through education initiatives.

The National Design Awards demonstrate to the public that design matters and increase national awareness of design and its impact on the quality of daily life. The awards recognize the areas of excellence, innovation and enhancement of the quality of life. The public impact of the daily work of the winners demonstrates the far-reaching effect of design innovation in every sector.

Blackwell said this award recognizes a body of work that is of multiple scales and types — from a free health clinic to schools to office buildings to residential housing. And it celebrates architecture that is deeply rooted in and unique to its place.

“I don’t see this as a win for us as much as a win for the state, for the Fay Jones School and what we try to teach, and for the whole Midsouth region, which is often overlooked,” Blackwell said. “Architecture can happen in unexpected places. That’s part of what we’re dedicated to. It’s why we’re here.”

His firm, which was founded 24 years ago, views architecture and design as a way of developing a connection to place. In particular, his firm carries on a tradition of design excellence long established in Fayetteville and the region.

“We get to do what we get to do because of the legacy of all those people that came before us here — Edward Durell Stone, Warren Segraves, Fay Jones. They built a legacy for firms dedicated to great design,” he said. “They set a standard of design excellence that motivates us, that helps us understand what it takes. The Northwest Arkansas community understands there’s a legacy — it’s evidenced over the last 70-plus years.”

Alongside growing his professional practice, Blackwell has also been a professor in the Fay Jones School since 1992 and is one of the longest-serving architecture faculty members.

“This national recognition from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum for Marlon Blackwell and his practice acknowledges what the Fay Jones School has benefited from for more than two decades,” said Peter MacKeith, dean of the school, “and, indeed, for its 70-year history: the undeniable importance of superior educator-practitioners, working alongside superior educator-scholars, in mentoring the next generation of leaders in architecture and design. We’re very happy for Marlon Blackwell Architects, and are very proud to support professor Blackwell in his work for the school, university and community.”

The work of Blackwell’s firm has been recognized with multiple international, national, regional and state awards, including four national Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects. The St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Springdale was named the World’s Best Civic and Community Building by the World Architecture Festival in 2011. Architect magazine listed the firm among the top 50 all-around design practices in the nation for 2015 in its annual survey and listed it as seventh in the Design category.

Blackwell also was awarded a 2014 Ford Fellowship from United States Artists, was named one of “30 Most Admired Educators” for 2015 by DesignIntelligence, and received a 2012 Arts and Letters Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

In addition to recognizing architecture design, National Design Awards were also given this year in these design categories: communication, fashion, interaction, interior, landscape architecture and product. Other awards recognize lifetime achievement, design mind and corporate institutional achievement.

Winners will be honored at the National Design Awards Gala on Oct. 20 at Cooper Hewitt in New York City, during National Design Week.

About the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design: The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas houses professional design programs of architecture, landscape architecture and interior design together with liberal studies programs. All of these programs combine studio design education with innovative teaching in history, theory, technology and urban design. A broad range of course offerings equips graduates with the knowledge and critical agility required to meet the challenges of designing for a changing world. Their training prepares students with critical frameworks for design thinking that also equip them to assume leadership roles in the profession and in their communities. The school’s architecture program was ranked 26th in the nation, and the 12th best program among public, land-grant universities, in the 16th Annual Survey of America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools, a study conducted in 2015 by the Design Futures Council and published in DesignIntelligence. For more information visit fayjones.uark.edu.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.