2025 Fay Jones School Alumni Design Awards

Any architecture, landscape architecture or interior design graduate of the University of Arkansas may submit projects for the 2025 Fay Jones School Alumni Design Awards. Awards for winning designs will be presented via an awards celebration in December. These projects will be featured in our alumni magazine, on this website and through social media. Submissions must be anonymous! 

All design work is eligible for the alumni design awards competition — architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, urban planning, historic preservation/adaptive reuse, industrial design, furniture and product design, set design, etc. Work must have been designed or built in 2020 or later.

Potential project types for alumni design awards entries:

• architecture
• interior design
• landscape architecture
• regional/urban design
• preservation design/adaptive reuse
• public good in the cause of diversity, equity and inclusion *
• visual studies (photography/drawing)
• product/furniture design
• virtual constructions
• exhibition design 
• unbuilt projects

Submission criteria:

Projects to be considered in the competition must have been designed or built by 2020 or later.

More details to come soon!  

Deadline:

Entries must be submitted online no later than Sept. 2, 2025.

Contact

Michelle Parks
Senior Director of Communications and Marketing
479/575-4704
mparks17@uark.edu

2024 Fay Jones School Alumni Design Award Winners

Designs for community, educational, cultural, tourism, residential, adaptive reuse, religious, retail, hospitality, recreational, corporate and governmental spaces, as well as urban planning and landscape design projects, were among 45 projects vying for recognition in the 2024 Fay Jones School Alumni Design Awards competition.

Entries came from Fay Jones School alumni practicing in cities around the state of Arkansas, as well as in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. A six-member jury chose 12 projects for accolades — resulting in one Honor Award, four Merit Awards, and seven Citation Awards.

The alumni design awards were announced during the school's Winter Fest Reception and Alumni Recognition Ceremony, held Jan. 17 in Vol Walker Hall on the university campus.

Christopher Brown (B.Arch. ’03) won an Honor Award in Architecture for the Tonal House in Portland, Oregon. Brown is with Observation Studio in Portland. This project exemplifies restraint and celebrates local craft. With views of Mount St. Helens and the Portland city center, the house gestures toward both with large, alternating openings. Each level integrates with the environment, increasing in scale while descending into the forest. The project balances the local and the universal, combining materials and skills from local manufacturers and craftspeople with a timeless approach to form. The foundation and primary walls are sustainably sourced, constructed from insulated concrete form blocks produced less than 100 miles away.

“The designers beautifully integrate site, building and detail using an innovative Faswall block building system,” the jury said. “The house's masses, forms and openings create a fantastic dialogue that creates a sense of tension while keeping an overall feeling of balance.”

Amanda Burcham (M.Des. ’23, B.I.D. ’14), Sarah McElroy (B.Arch. ’01), Josh Siebert (B.Arch. ’02) and Chris M. Baribeau (B.Arch. ’03) won a Merit Award in Architecture for the Greenland School District Administration Office. The design team is with Modus Studio in Fayetteville. This design honors the mid-century architecture of the existing campus while creating a community beacon and healthy workspace for the district's administration. Its two-sided entry celebrates both a pedestrian approach and conventional automobile arrivals.

“This small project is very well done. It feels cohesive, and none of the elements seem out of place,” the jury said. “The design language from steel, brick, glass and concrete materials is consistent inside and outside.”

S. Austin Ward (B.Arch. ’13) won a Merit Award in Regional and Urban Design for the Downtown Cary Park in Cary, North Carolina. Ward is with Machado Silvetti in Boston, Massachusetts. It features indoor and outdoor event spaces, a concert and performance area, food and beverage options (including a market and bar), public restrooms, and staff and operations support areas. The outdoor spaces are made to accommodate concerts, festivals, food trucks and educational programs.

“This project has a unique and fun character,” the jury said. “Dedicating one formal language throughout the project facilitates several interesting spaces.”

David W. McKee (B.Arch. ’82) won a Merit Award in Historic Preservation for the Richard and Alma Brothers Residence Restoration in Fayetteville, Arkansas. McKee is with McKee Properties LLC in Fayetteville. This 1956 E. Fay Jones-designed mid-century modern home was recently restored to preserve and refurbish the defining elements of Jones’ organic architecture. Initially uninhabitable, the residence required complete system replacements and a new roof after 66 years. Extensive site work was undertaken to restore and protect this historic home.

“This is an extremely well-executed example of residential historic preservation with a faithful response to Fay Jones’ work,” the jury said.

Nick Ryan (B.Arch. ’20) won a Merit Award in Unbuilt for Tower 14 in De Smet, South Dakota. This was an independent project for Ryan. The town of De Smet plans to integrate Highway 14 as the gateway to its new observation tower and trail system, offering ideal vantage points for observing the area’s historic natural features. The elevator core of Tower 14 doubles as an illuminated beacon, with wood and polycarbonate materials enhancing its durability.

“This project is compelling,” the jury said. “The composition with bold forms and proportions and attention to materials and details give this project a powerful presence.”

Calli Verkamp (B.Arch. ’13) won a Citation Award in Architecture for Galien River Retreat in New Buffalo, Michigan. Verkamp is with Wheeler Kearns Architects in Chicago.

Joey Gamblin (B.Arch. ’12) won a Citation Award in Architecture for Maricopa County Southeast Justice Center in Mesa, Arizona. Gamblin is with Multistudio in Phoenix, Arizona.

Joiner Dotson (B.L.A. ’22), Shannon Norman (B.L.A. ’09) and Reva Meeks (B.Arch. ’08) won a Citation Award in Landscape Architecture for Underwood Park Master Plan in Fayetteville. The design team is with the Ecological Design Group in Rogers.

Joey Hamm (B.Arch. ’14) won a Citation Award in Interior Architecture and Design for Jarrett Middle School in Springfield, Missouri. Hamm is with Dake Wells Architecture in Springfield, Missouri.

Mary Nell Miskin (B.L.A. ’15), Shannon Norman (B.L.A. ’09) and Tanner Weeks (B.L.A. ’98) won a Citation Award in Regional and Urban Design for ArtCourt in Fayetteville. The design team is with the Ecological Design Group in Rogers.

Adam Day (B.Arch. ’08) and Kyle Heflin (B.Arch. ’15) won a Citation Award in Historic Preservation for LA Davis Student Union Renovation in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The design team is with AMR Architects in Little Rock.

Kyle Heflin (B.Arch. ’15) won a Citation Award for Public Good for Argenta Parklets in North Little Rock. Heflin is with AMR Architects in Little Rock.