Fay Jones School of Architecture

The Fay Jones School was twice ranked No. 1 in a national survey of “top brands” in architectural education, according to a survey conducted by the Design Futures Council. The results were published in the November/December 2012 issue of DesignIntelligence. The Fay Jones School was included in this survey of the “top brands,” a sampling of architecture school brand strengths based on surveys and interviews by DesignIntelligence editors. The school tied for No. 1 in the nation in the “Top for Regional Respect and Admiration” category, sharing that distinction with California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and the University of Oregon. The Fay Jones School also tied for No. 1 in the nation in the “Best Small School Design Program” category, sharing that with Rice University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The Fay Jones School is also ranked 19th in the nation in the 13th annual survey of “America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools,” a study conducted by the Design Futures Council and also published in the November/December 2012 issue of DesignIntelligence. The survey lists the top 20 undergraduate architecture programs for 2013.

In this ranking, the Fay Jones School was the eighth best program among public universities. Since its last ranking by DesignIntelligence, in 2008, the school has improved one spot overall and three spots among public universities.

The renovation of Vol Walker Hall and the addition of the Steven L. Anderson Design Center, designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects, is more than halfway finished. Keep up with the progress on our blog dedicated to the project, “Architecture in the Making.” It features photo galleries and webcam views with time-lapse photography.

Stephen Luoni, director of the University of Arkansas Community Design Center, has received a $50,000 fellowship grant from United States Artists (USA).

A 2012 USA Ford Fellow, Luoni was one of 54 artists to receive a fellowship from United States Artists, a national grant-making and advocacy organization, which awarded 50 unrestricted grants of $50,000 each. The recipients were announced at a Dec. 2 ceremony hosted by actor/director Tim Robbins, which also featured performances by new and former fellows, held at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Luoni is a Distinguished Professor of architecture in the Fay Jones School, where he is also the Steven L. Anderson Chair in Architecture and Urban Studies. The Community Design Center, an outreach program of the Fay Jones School, specializes in interdisciplinary public works projects combining landscape, urban and architectural design, with a focus on shaping urban design approaches to issues of sustainability.

This award is the largest that Luoni has personally received. In the seven-year history of the USA Fellows program, this is the first year for Arkansas to be represented. He shared the spotlight with other USA Fellows who included author Annie Proulx, choreographer Tina Brown and jazz musician Jack DeJohnette.

Faculty, students and alumni of the Fay Jones School were recognized with awards from the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Design awards and other awards were given during the annual AIA Arkansas State Convention, held in September at the Hot Springs Convention Center. School faculty, alumni and students won all four awards given – three honor awards and one merit award.

In addition, Tim Maddox (B.Arch. ’02), managing principal at deMx architecture, received the 2012 Emerging Professional Award at the ceremony. And, George Wildgen, a former Professional Advisory Board member for the school, received an Award of Merit at the awards ceremony.

David J. Buege, Fay Jones Chair in Architecture at the University of Arkansas, accepted a Tenured position as Professor of Architecture as of Fall 2012. Buege previously served as director of the architecture program. He has also been director of the architecture program at Philadelphia University, and has taught at Auburn University, Mississippi State University, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He taught a seminar at Auburn’s Rural Studio for several years and was interim director of the Rural Studio in 2007-08.

He has worked in the offices of Eisenman Architects and Bartos-Rhodes Architects in New York.

He received a B.S. degree in Environmental Design from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, studied for one year at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York, and received his M.Arch. degree from Princeton University.

In addition, architecture professor David Buege was selected as one of the “30 Most Admired Educators for 2013.” The DesignIntelligence staff solicited input from design professionals, academic leaders and students. They said Buege “brings a clarity and consistency of rigor, focus and exploration to his work with faculty, administration and students. He has become well known for high standards and getting the best out of each person he works with. He makes the difficult easier to understand.”

Assistant Professor Marc Manack comes to the Fay Jones School of Architecture from Cleveland, Ohio, where he founded and is currently principal of the architecture and design firm SILO AR+D. Manack’s teaching responsibilities include design studios, professional practice, and design theory seminars that support his research interests in repositioning computation’s disciplinary agenda. Manack has taught previously at the Kent State University College of Architecture and Environmental Design and at Ohio State University’s Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture.

Assistant Professor Frank Jacobus comes to the University of Arkansas from the University of Idaho.  As a new faculty member at the Fay Jones School of Architecture Frank teaches Design I and Honors Research Methods.  Frank is a registered architect and has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and a post-professional MArch II from the University of Texas at Austin.  His thesis research at the University of Texas focused on the affects of emerging technologies and media on the discipline of architecture and was selected by the architecture faculty as the “Outstanding Masters Design Study”.  While in Austin he was an invited member to a project titled “Resilient Foundations: The Gulf Coast after Katrina”, which was exhibited at the 10th annual architecture show at the Venice Biennale.  Frank’s research while at the University of Arkansas has primarily centered on our evolving perceptions of the built environment and the effects of emerging media and technology on the conceptualization of that environment.  Frank believes deeply in the educational value of continually testing architectural projects through physical making.  His work has been published widely in conference proceedings and journals.  Frank resides in Fayetteville, Arkansas with his wife Emilie and his two sons, Topher and Benny.

Amber Ellett, NCARB, LEED AP joins the faculty of the Fay Jones School of Architecture as a Visiting Assistant Professor, teaching courses in architectural design, environmental technology, and site phenomenology.  She previously taught at the College of Architecture, Art, and Design at Mississippi State University, where she was a Visiting Assistant Professor teaching courses in architectural design, active building systems, and foundational drawing.

Ellett is a registered architect and holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Nebraska and a Bachelor of Science in Design (Architecture), Studio Art Minor with honors and high distinction from the University of Nebraska. 

Angie Carpenter is teaching as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the third-year studio in fall 2012 / spring 2013. She received her Master of Architecture degree in 2012 from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Carpenter is an Alumna of the Fay Jones School of Architecture.

Heather McArthur is teaching as an Adjunct Instructor in the third-year studio in fall 2012. She has a Master of Architecture from the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.