AIA and USGBC Agreement Saves Members 15%

The AIA and USGBC have entered into an agreement giving AIA members a 15% discount on select USGBC publications and webinars.  This is in addition to the USGBC member rate, so AIA members (or chapters) who are already USGBC members receive an extra discount on top of their USGBC member discount.  Please share this new benefit with your members or people you are marketing AIA membership to.  To claim the 15% discount, members will enter "AIAGREEN" during webinar registration or bookstore checkout.

Webinars & Publication Eligible for Discount

Charles Witsell, FAIA Receives the

2011 Fay Jones Gold Medal 

Over his career, as an architect, Charles Witsell has pursued his interest in historic preservation with a passion, giving freely of his time and talents to various professional, community and religious organizations. He is an author and a noted public speaker; he has also taught classes on the subject of historic Arkansas architecture at the University of Arkansas and at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. His lifetime of experience and knowledge of historic structures in Arkansas has made him a very significant resource to those who are seeking information and guidance in the field of preservation in our state. 

                Mr. Witsell has also been an accomplished practitioner, working on over 200 National Register buildings and dozens of others in his career. In new construction, Mr. Witsell is experienced in many building types, reflecting forty years of commitment to his profession. The majority of his design and design management of new construction are in ecclesiastical, educational, governmental and residential structures.  

                Charles Witsell, Jr, FAIA was born on June 10, 1944. He attended Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 1966 and where also he obtained a Master of Architecture in 1968. Upon graduation, Charles returned to Little Rock and went to work for the Cromwell Firm where he was able to work with and for his mentor, Ed Cromwell. In 1973 he became a registered architect in Arkansas and he remained at the firm until 1978. In 1978 Witsell joined Don Evans to form Witsell and Evans Architects/Planners to take advantage of the popular new tax credits for historic preservation and restoration. Witsell has served as senior principal of the firm, which became Witsell, Evans, Rasco (WER) in 1984, since its founding.  

                During his tenure as president, the firm has grown and prospered winning dozens of awards along the way. A 21-person firm located in Little Rock the WER partnership is noted for its tradition of architectural excellence and for its commitment to cultural, academic and scientific institutions, as well as its celebrated achievements in historic preservation.  

                Mr. Witsell's passion for preservation is evident in the numerous leadership roles that he has held in the past and in the ones he continues to hold today. He has served on the Board of Advisors of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Arkansas Commemorative Commission, which is responsible for the Old State house and Trapnall Hall, and he is currently Vice Chair of the Historic Arkansas Museum. He has previously served on the boards of the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas, the Quapaw Quarter Association, and the Governor's Mansion Association. He was vice-chair of the Little Rock Historic District Commission and served on the Mayor's Task Force on Historic preservation.  

                For his efforts, he has been awarded the Jimmy Strawn Award by the Quapaw Quarter Association, the McGimsey Award for contribution to Arkansas Archaeology, the Ledbetter Award for Books on Arkansas, The Westbrook Award by the Preservation Alliance, and with his wife Becky, they were the honorees for the establishment of an endowment for the establishment of scholarships for preservation education.  

                Mr. Witsell has received two American Institute of Architects (AIA) commendations, he is a former director of the Arkansas chapter of the AIA and he was named a Fellow by the AIA in 1987 for his significant contribution to architecture. Additionally, he has coauthored one book, written thirty-seven articles, delivered over 100 lectures and he is in the early stages of another book on Arkansas architecture.  

                His works can be found from Lake Village to Fayetteville and Texarkana to Jonesboro featuring such preservation projects as the Old State House, the Confederate State Capitol in Hempstead County, the Hempstead County 1874 Courthouse, a number of projects with the current Arkansas State Capitol and numerous residences and other building types. In the area of new construction he played a significant role on the Richard Sheppard Arnold United States Courthouse addition and remodeling, the Episcopal Collegiate School in Little Rock, the First United Methodist Church in Texarkana and new Episcopal churches in Conway, Jacksonville, Russellville and Little Rock. Additionally, he played a significant role on buildings on seven college campuses in Arkansas among numerous other projects.

                 When one surveys the life of Charles Witsell, Jr. it becomes quite obvious that his career has not been a job, but it has been a passion. It is also quite obvious that this passion has benefited all Arkansans greatly, whether they realize it or not.

 

 

Chris Baribeau, AIA Receives the

2011 Emerging Professionals Award 

Chris Baribeau, AIA is the Principal Architect of the Fayetteville, Arkansas-based firm, Modus Studio, which he co-founded in 2008. Since graduating from the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture he has worked on a wide range of well received, award winning, and widely-published architectural projects in the region and nation. Chris draws daily inspiration and experience from this place, inhabiting the threshold between the natural and manmade world of the Ozarks. Awareness and observation of the world is a constant source for design and an unwritten instruction manual for living.

 

Modus Studio is a young, progressive and talented design-thinking collective that bridges the design profession with architecture, graphic, prototyping, and fabrication work. The studio follows the idea that architecture is a source and result of experience, founded in thoughtful design. The experience of architecture can be inspiring to all people in a daily, practical, and sustainable way. All people deserve good space derived from good ideas--and this is the mode in which we operate.

  

US Green Building Council-Arkansas Chapter Receives the

2011 Award of Merit 

 The U.S. Green Building Council- Arkansas Chapter was formed in 2001 as a nonprofit affiliate of the national U.S. Green Building Council. The Arkansas Chapter has grown every year since its founding and now includes 350 members from across the state representing architects, contractors, builders, green product manufacturers, distributors, engineers, building owners and state and local government officials.  The Chapter has two active branches in Central and Northwest Arkansas and a provisional branch in Northeast Arkansas. Key programs of the chapter include Education, Advocacy, Community Outreach, and Green Schools. In 2011, the Arkansas Chapter significantly expanded its Education Offering to offer over 60 separate educational programs, workshops and tours- many that offer local, affordable AIA, PE and GBCI continuing education credits.

 USGBC- Arkansas joined with the AIA Arkansas in 2011 for the first statewide REALgreen Conference bringing nationally recognized leaders in sustainability to the state. The Chapter ranks in the top ten US states on a per capita basis for both LEED Project Certification (52 Commercial and 30 Homes) and LEED Accredited Professionals (490).  The Chapter is committed to the vision of green buildings for all communities within a generation.

 

BRR OPEN HOUSE

Join us for an Open House and celebrate BRR achieving LEED Gold Certification

Thursday, November 3rd from 3-6pm

• Ribbon cutting ceremony with Bentonville Chamber of Commerce at 2:30pm.
• LEED Gold Certification presentation with the US Green Building Council at 5:00pm.
• Light hors d'oeuvres and drinks will be served.

Location:

BRR Architecutre

700 SE 5th Street, Suite 5

Bentonville, AR 72712

For more information, contact:
Bart Brown
bart.brown@brrarch.com

tel 479-286-2900

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Residential Architect magazine has chosen the Fayetteville firm Marlon Blackwell Architect as its Top Firm for 2011.

Blackwell is a Distinguished Professor and head of the architecture department in the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas. Meghan Drueding, senior editor for Residential Architect, wrote the feature that appears in the September/October issue, which hit mailboxes last week.

Drueding said Blackwell's firm is "ripe for being recognized, and one we feel people would want to know more about." In addition to the magazine profile story, Blackwell and his firm will be recognized at the eighth annual Residential Architect Reinvention Symposium, co-sponsored by the Phoenix chapter of the American Institute of Architects, in December in Phoenix. He will also participate in a session there regarding "The Future of Residential Practice."

Blackwell's firm stood out to the magazine editors for many reasons.

"They do really fantastic work; it's always really original and dynamic. It's so site specific and it's so sensitive," Drueding said. "Marlon and his staff are interesting people. They have such a great reputation among other architects. They've really built a well-respected practice."

In addition, Blackwell has been able to build a well-rounded practice, with projects of all scales. "It's a challenge to do all of that and be head of the architecture department," she said. "Everything they do, they do well."

Another aspect that makes his firm intriguing, Drueding said, is the large-scale projects they do, including the renovation of Vol Walker Hall and the simultaneous addition of the Steven L. Anderson Design Center, which just broke ground earlier this month on the University of Arkansas campus. His firm is the project's lead architect, in conjunction with Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Little Rock and Fayetteville. Blackwell's firm is also part of the design team for the addition to Fayetteville High School. He worked with DLR Group of Kansas City and Hight-Jackson Associates of Rogers for this project, which is under construction. His firm also designed the recently completed museum store at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which opens Nov. 11, in Bentonville.

Drueding noted the fact that Blackwell's firm had teamed up with other firms to work on some of those major projects. "Marlon's such a smart guy, and all of the people who work there are really talented," she said. "They're such a great example of how to do things."

Blackwell's firm started as a residential firm and has gradually diversified its work, he said. "It's an honor to be recognized as a firm that's contributing in a significant way to the residential architecture discourse," he said. "It demonstrates that good design can happen just about anywhere."

Residential design can be tricky because homes are so personal, he said, plus they are typically the largest investment a person makes in a lifetime. "Trying to design something for people to inhabit and live with on a daily basis presents a greater challenge than a public or commercial building. They have to live with it 24/7," he said. "Its scale is deceptive in terms of the challenge."

Previous winners of the Top Firm award include Centerbrook Architects and Planners in Centerbrook, Conn.; Mithun in Seattle and San Francisco; Frank Harmon Architect, in Raleigh, N.C.; Muse Architects in Bethesda, Md.; Pyatok Architects in Oakland, Calif.; Ehrlich Architects in Culver City, Calif.; and Koning Eizenberg Architecture in Santa Monica, Calif.

Their process isn't a very scientific one. "It's more that we have people on our radar, or we've had people on our radar for years," Drueding said. "There are people we've gotten to know, and that we're hearing more about. It ends up being a simpler process than you might think."

Blackwell is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects. He also served on the jury for the 2011 Residential Architect Design Awards.

Residential Architect has a circulation of 20,000 and is the official residential architecture magazine of the American Institute of Architects. In addition to Top Firm, the magazine selects Hall of Fame and Rising Star recipients for its leadership awards, which it has handed out for 11 years.

DES RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD FOR iPAD APP

Crestron Integration Awards Highlight Integrators' Achievements

DES has won the 2011 Crestron Integration Award in the category of "Best iPad Home Control-Gold" in a contest open to all North American Crestron dealers.

Crestron's seventh annual Integration Awards for residential dealers celebrates the achievements of integrators who have embraced Crestron's Total Home Technology solutions, resulting in some of the most spectacular and innovative system designs.

"We developed HomeSuite Mobile to meet the growing demand from our customers for mobile control of their home's electronic systems," said Kevin Lambidonis, DES CEO and Director of Business Development. "Our manufacturers provide their own apps for mobile devices, but we didn't want our customers to have to learn a new operating system."

The DES software development team created an app that incorporates Apple's Human Interface Guidelines, such as drag-and-drop and pinch-to-zoom, while maintaining a similar control interface as DES's touch panels and television interface controls. HomeSuite Mobile provides control for Audio, HVAC, Lighting, Paging, Intercom, Security and Surveillance from any supported Apple iPad over a secure 3G or WiFi connection.

"DES demonstrates how a talented dealer can differentiate themselves and create a product that is unique to them with the tools that exist today," said Crestron Regional Sales Manager, Matt Lien. 

George Feldstein, Crestron's founder, presented the trophy at an awards ceremony held at the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) EXPO in Indianapolis on September 9, 2011. Dealers submitted more than 170 projects for the contest.

To see a case study of the winning project click here.  

Natural Building Solutions Seeks Green Building Certification

Viridian recently registered Natural Building Solutions in Little Rock, Arkansas with the U.S. Green Building Council to become a LEED certified building.

The project is a 6,000 square-foot renovation of a building located at 1711 Rebsamen Park Road in the heart of the Riverdale neighborhood. The building will be transformed into a high performing LEED building that will be 30-40% more energy efficient, uses 60% less water, built with materials that are non toxic, contain a high percentage of recycled content, and are sourced from regional manufacturers.   The project is seeking a Gold level certification through the USGBC LEED rating system.

Natural Building Solutions is a retailer that provides non-toxic building materials that are certified safe, environmentally friendly and sustainable. The products that they retail include Mythic Paint, Plyboo, Caroma, and Richlite to name a few. They currently have a Northwest Arkansas location at 3244 College Avenue in Fayetteville, AR. To learn more about the company and the products they sell you can visit the website at www.getnaturalusa.com

"We are excited to have the opportunity to work on such an exciting project. The greenest buildings are always the ones that are already built. Natural Building Solutions has a unique opportunity to transform a decades old building into a state-of-the-art retail facility that is environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and provides a healthy space for their employees and customers. Natural Building Solutions is walking the walk and as a result they will have a building that showcases the sustainable products they sell while creating a legacy that is environmentally responsible," said Matt Bell, a partner at Viridian.

The Natural Building Solutions building is being designed by Modus Studio of Fayetteville, Arkansas, with Viridian as the sustainability consultant and Kinco Construction serving as the general contractor.