Category Archives: Design

15 Highlights of 2015 – Polk Stanley Wilcox wins AIA/ALA Library Building Award for CALS Children’s Library

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Childrens Library 2For the final fifteen days of 2015, a look back at some of the cultural highlights of 2015.

Up first –

Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects and the Central Arkansas Library System were honored with Library Architecture’s highest and most prestigious achievement: A 2015 AIA/ALA Library Building Award. 

Of all libraries submitted, the 2015 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards honor only six separate projects. The Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center joins prestigious projects from as far away as Vancouver, Washington, Dartmouth, Mass., Norfolk, Virginia, San Antonio, Texas, and Des Moines, Iowa. The projects was honored at the National ALA Conference in San Francisco on June 25-30th.

To encourage excellence in the architectural design and planning of libraries, the National American Institute of Architects (AIA) in Washington DC and the American Library Association (ALA) created this award to distinguish accomplishments in library architecture. Biennially, representatives of each organization celebrate the finest examples of library design from around the world designed by American Architects.

READThe new Children’s Library and Learning Center is based on experiential learning, where children are educated through hands on activities that teach life skills needed to become responsible adults. Referred to as a “community-embedded, supportive learning center,” this library offers not only books, but also a performance space, a teaching kitchen, a greenhouse and vegetable garden, and an arboretum.

The award is given every two years.  It is the second time that Polk Stanley Wilcox has received the award for a CALS project.  In 2011 the firm won it for the Arkansas Studies Institute building.  Not only is it rare for a firm to receive this award, it is even more rare for the same firm to receive it twice for working with the same client.  These honors are a testament to the leadership at both Polk Stanley Wilcox and the Central Arkansas Library System.

Little Rock Look Back: Little Rock votes to Restore Robinson

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On Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013, voters of Little Rock overwhelmingly chose to renovate the historic Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium.

By a vote of 5,183 For and 1,800 Against, Little Rock citizens approved a plan to use a portion of the city’s existing 2 percent restaurant and hotel tax to repay bonds for a renovation of Robinson Center.  The campaign was chaired by businessman Charles Stewart, restaurateur Capi Peck and former LR Mayor Jim Dailey.

Robinson has long been a landmark in central Arkansas. Construction of the Joseph T. Robinson Memorial Auditorium began in 1938 (after a December 1937 groundbreaking under a deadline) and officially opened February 1940. The structure was a PWA (Public Works Administration) project, and is an excellent example of the Art Deco style architecture of the time. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

The facility is owned by the City of Little Rock and managed by the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The 1940 structure suffered from a wide array of deficiencies, including stage loading and unloading, stage size, acoustical insufficiency, dressing room access and inadequate wing space within the performance hall. Also, structural, mechanical and electrical issues, public circulation and outdated conference center spaces existed within the facility.

Knowing the center is in need of major upgrades if the facility is to continue to serve central Arkansas into the future, the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission (LRA&P) empanelled a Robinson Center Concept Team in October 2011. The group was tasked with evaluating all aspects of the existing facility, researching user needs, proposing conceptual solutions and estimating the cost and construction schedule of the proposed additions and renovations. The concept team was led by Mike Steelman of SCM Architects, PLLC, and included representatives from WD&D Architects, Shuler Shook Theatre Planners, Jaffe-Holden Acoustical Consultants, TME Inc. Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, ECI Inc. Structural Engineers, McClelland Consulting Engineers Inc. Civil Engineers, East Harding Construction, HVS Consulting and Hunt Construction Group.

Additionally, stakeholder and tenant organizations representing the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Celebrity Attractions of Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Double Tree Hotel participated in the planning. The concept team findings were presented publicly on June 5, 2012.

On January 17, 2013 the LRA&P announced the selection of Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, partnered with Ennead Architects, as the architectural and design team for the future renovations. On March 28, 2013 CDI Contractors LLC, partnered with Hunt Construction Group, were selected by LRA&P as the general contractors and construction managers.

On September 23, 2013 the final schematic renderings and cost estimates were presented publicly. The schematic plans depict major interior upgrades within the performance hall including additional volume to create a two-balcony setup, increased lobby space, acoustical improvements, theatrical upgrades, loading dock expansion, a larger stage area, and new dressing room facilities. Additionally, an enhanced modern ballroom and small conference center was unveiled. New technology, mechanical systems, and outdoor plaza spaces were included in the presentation.

Construction would begin on July 1, 2014, with a completion scheduled for November 2016.

 

Elysse Newman discusses “NEW (OLD) DIRECTIONS IN ARCHITECTURE” tonight at the ADN Lecture

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AN_WENewman_ArchHeadElysse Newman, recently installed as Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design (FJSAD), will be the final 2015 first speaker for the Architecture and Design Network’s lecture series. Her remarks are entitled “NEW (OLD) DIRECTIONS IN ARCHITECTURE.”

Newman will speak tonight at 6pm at the Arkansas Arts Center. A reception at 5:30 will precede the remarks.

She has been tasked with developing a “curriculum for the 21st Century”, one that will prepare students for new, unexpected and increasingly complex challenges likely to be encountered in the practice of architecture. Building on the “old” while incorporating the “new”, much of it research based, is what she and her staff will be doing. FJSAD dean, Peter MacKeith, calls Newman “one of a new generation of architectural educators.”

The focus of Newman’s academic research has been and will continue to be multidisciplinary studies involving the fields of perception, psychology and neuroscience, disciplines whose relationship to architecture is of increasing interest to the profession.

Newman received a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in history, with psychology and anthropology minors, all from the University of Texas at Austin. She also received a Master of Architecture, a Master of Philosophy in history of technology and science, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in architecture, urban design, planning and landscape architecture, all from Harvard University. She has taught at Florida International University since 2011. She previously was a visiting professor at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Tennessee, and a teaching fellow at Harvard University. Newman was a Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin.

Architecture and Design Network lectures are free and open to the public. For additional information contact ardenetwork@icloud.com.
Supporters of the non-profit Architecture and Design  Network (ADN) include the Arkansas Arts Center, the Fay Jones School of Architecture, the Central Section of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and friends in the community.

Little Rock Look Back: Robinson Auditorium Construction Hits Milestone in 1939

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jtrma-bw.jpgMany months behind schedule, it was 76 years ago today that the construction of the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium was declared “substantially finished.”

On December 8, 1939, the work of the general contractor was complete.  The building’s utilities were all fully connected as the steam line and electric transformer were hooked up.  While the work of the general contractor was through, there was still much work to be done.

Though there were still unfinished portions of the structure, the exterior was complete and finished surfaces had been installed on the interior.  Until the building was officially turned over to the City, the federal Public Works Administration still had to give approval for any uses of the building.

Mayor J. V. Satterfield, Jr. told the press that he wasn’t sure when the City would formally accept the building. The connection of the utilities had used up the remaining funds, so there was uncertainty as to when the final tasks would be completed.

When it was built, Robinson Auditorium was the first municipal auditorium in the south central United States to be air conditioned.  However, the air conditioning unit was not sufficient to cool both the music hall and the convention hall at the same time.  In warm weather months concurrent events would not be able to take place on the two levels.

Winter Wonderland Festivus tonight!

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qqa FestivusThere may not be feats of strength or airing of grievances, but that doesn’t mean the Quapaw Quarter Association won’t be celebrating Festivus!

Festivus is a festival for the best of us.

Festivus attendees will not be required to perform feats of strength, air grievances or decorate the pole.  All they will be required to do is have a fun time and enjoy the opportunity to bid on great auction items.

Hors d’ouevres, Beer, Wine and Signature Cocktail, Live Music by Stuart Baer and Charlotte Taylor, Silent Auction and Wine Pull.

When: Tuesday, December 8 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Where: Kramer School Artists Co-Op

Tickets are $50 at the door.  QQA memberships are also available at the door.  The price includes food and open bar.

Proceeds benefit the preservation programs of the Quapaw Quarter Association.

Little Rock Look Back: Clinton Library Groundbreaking

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bill groundbreak14 years ago today the groundbreaking for the Clinton Library took place on December 5, 2001. It was dry and about thirty degrees warmer than the actual opening would be in November 2004.

The former president was joined by then-Mayor Jim Dailey, City Director Dean Kumpuris, then-Assistant City Manager Bruce Moore, contractor Bill Clark, then-Clinton Foundation executives Skip Rutherford & Stephanie Streett, and other dignitaries in turning the dirt. The location for the ceremony is now actually the parking lot for Sturgis Hall – the home of the Clinton School of Public Service and Clinton Foundation offices.

President Clinton was the only member of his family to attend the ceremony, which drew over 400 people. His wife, then the junior Senator from New York, was expecting some important floor votes in Washington DC, and daughter Chelsea was studying in England.

At the ceremony, Clinton joked “We’re going to try to build it in less than it took to build the medieval cathedrals and the Egyptian pyramids, but if I can’t rein in my team it may cost as much!” Of course by then the date was set for November 2004. Coordinating schedules of the current and former Presidents is an intricate act.

Sandwich in History today at the Albert Pike Memorial Temple

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Albert Pike Memorial TempleThe monthly architectural history program “Sandwiching in History” visits the Albert Pike Memorial Temple, located at 712 Scott Street. The program begins at noon today.  A historian with the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program delivers a brief lecture about the church before leading guests on a tour.

Completed in 1924, the three-story, Classical Revival-style temple was designed by George R. Mann and Eugene John Stern for the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. In 1952 a fire damaged the southern end of the building, which was rebuilt and rededicated in 1956. The building’s monumental front facade, which encompasses an entire city block, is lined with nineteen Ionic columns. The interior features beautifully decorated spaces with ornate plaster molding, stained-glass windows, and pink and gray marble.

Sandwiching in History is a program of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.  The AHPP is responsible for identifying, evaluating, registering and preserving the state’s cultural resources. Other DAH agencies are the Arkansas Arts Council, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Old State House Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and the Historic Arkansas Museum.