Thaden School wins Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize design award

Thaden School, a private, independent school in Bentonville, won the 2025 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, one of the most prestigious honors in contemporary architecture, according to a Monday (May 5) news release.

The Walton Family Foundation’s Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program supported its design.

Thaden School’s 30-acre campus at 800 S.E. C St. was designed by Fayetteville-based Marlon Blackwell Architects in collaboration with EskewDumezRipple of New Orleans and Andropogon Associates of Philadelphia. Thaden School was founded in 2017 and has opened its campus in phases.

The Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) was presented by the Illinois Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture and recognizes outstanding built works in the Americas that “enrich lives through innovation, sustainability and design excellence,” the release notes. The award was announced during a ceremony at S. R. Crown Hall in Chicago. S. R. Crown Hall was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and is home to the College of Architecture.

Thaden School was one of five finalists for the biennial award, which is presented to projects completed in North, Central and South America between 2018 and 2023.

“Thaden School is a landmark not just for Northwest Arkansas, but for the entire field of educational architecture,” said Marlon Blackwell, lead architect. “This project demonstrates what’s possible when a school’s mission, place, and people come together with purpose and imagination.”

According to the release, the Thaden School project was recognized for its architectural innovation, “thoughtful integration with the natural landscape, and deep engagement with the local community.” The MCHAP jury praised Thaden School for “redefining the role of educational institutions in shaping civic space and regional character.”

“This recognition by MCHAP is a tremendous honor,” said Michael Maloy, head of Thaden School. “Our campus was designed to inspire curiosity, collaboration, and creativity — and this award affirms that architecture can be a powerful catalyst for educational innovation.”

In 2016, Walmart donated 30 acres for the school southeast of Eighth and Main streets. The school has added grades as it’s expanded over the years. In the 2025-26 academic year, the school will serve grades K-2 and 5-12 and will expand to grades K-12 by the 2026-27 academic year. In July, the school announced it would build a Lower School and expand onto 5 acres south of its campus.

Thaden School’s enrollment rose by 10.5% to 336 in fall 2024 from 304 at the same time in 2022.