Fort Smith Regional Art Museum wins architect award

The Fort Smith Regional Art Museum has received the 2014 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Gulf States Region Merit Award at the Gulf States Regional Reception and Honor Awards during the 2014 AIA National Convention in Chicago.

The AIA Gulf States Region Honor Awards Program awards high quality architecture in the region and the design achievements of the architects. The AIA has been the leading professional membership association for licensed architects, emerging professionals, and allied partners since 1857. This Honors program identifies works of distinction designed by AIA members in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. These awards also bring greater public recognition to our Gulf States Region's outstanding architects and their remarkable projects.

Arkansas received five of the 10 Gulf States Honor Awards. Each project considered for the awards was judged according to its own merit, how well it solved the problem addressed, and sustainability.

Other 2014 winners included Eco Modern Flats in Fayetteville, the Northwest Arkansas Free Health Center, and the Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School. The 2013 AIA Gulf States Honor Award recipients included projects such as the Rosa F. Keller Library & Community Center in New Orleans; Oak Ridge House in Jackson, Mississippi; and Village de Jardin in New Orleans.

Earlier this year RAM won the prestigious 2013 Preservation through Rehabilitation Award from the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas, as well as the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Gold Award. The architects of the newly renovated museum, Polk, Stanley Wilcox, are known for their work such as the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, Heifer International World Headquarters, and the Arkansas Studies Institute (ASI) of Little Rock.