Walton Family Foundation to choose new designers
by February 21, 2019 4:01 pm 1,084 views
The Walton Family Foundation will accept applications from designers for its Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program through March 15. The foundation is looking for designers with experience in landscape architecture and urban design in small communities.
The Design Excellence Program was established in 2015 and promotes the highest level of design in the development of public buildings and spaces in Benton and Washington counties. Following are some principals the foundation follows when selecting design professionals, projects and program success: commitment to strengthening public life, elevating standards of sustainability and resilience, celebrating local cultures and place, and building regional capacity.
The program accepts design firms of all sizes, including nationally recognized, multidisciplinary firms; smaller specialty firms; and young designers yet to be discovered. The selection committee includes industry experts and foundation representatives who decide which companies are added to the program. Designers accepted to the program are able to participate in it for up to five years or until they are selected for a project. More than 50 architecture and landscape architecture companies representing 15 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and Denmark have been admitted to the program.
The Design Excellence Program has supported 11 projects in downtowns of the five largest cities in Northwest Arkansas. Some of the projects include the Cultural Arts Corridor in Fayetteville, Helen Walton Children’s Enrichment Center in Bentonville, Luther George Park in Springdale and TheatreSquared in Fayetteville. Designers for the previous projects, respectively, are Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects of Charlottesville, Va.; LTL Architects of New York City; Spackman Mossop Michaels of New Orleans; and Marvel Architects of New York City.
More information on the program is available at this link. Designers who are selected for the program will be notified by April 30.