Radical Practice
Marlon Blackwell discusses his architecture and design process, emphasizing projects in the public and civic realm
Sponsored by ABC World Wide Stone, Architectural Record, Armstrong World Industries, Benjamin Moore & Co., Bison Innovative Products, BQE Software, DoorBird, EQUITONE facades, Kingspan Insulated Panels, Landscape Forms, National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association, Inc., The Ornamental Metal Institute of New York, and The Steel Institute of New York | Presented by Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, AIA Gold Medalist
Webinar On-Demand
Marlon Blackwell discusses his architecture and design process, emphasizing projects in the public and civic realm, emerging from outside the established centers of architectural culture. His firm’s award-winning designs span across typologies, scales, and budgets, and merge the universal language of architecture with the particulars of place. The title of his talk (and of a new monograph) speaks to a core principle at the heart of the practice, radical in its fundamental simplicity: a constant focus on the authentic in the making of buildings and places.
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Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, is a practicing architect in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and the E. Fay Jones Distinguished Professor at the University of Arkansas. Blackwell is the recipient of the 2020 AIA Gold Medal, the Institute’s highest honor recognizing those whose work has had an enduring impact on the theory and practice of architecture . Blackwell is a lifetime member of the American Academy of Arts an d National Academy of Design Academician , a 2019 Resident Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, a nd a 2014 United States Artists Ford Fellow . Work produced in his professional office, Marlon Blackwell Architects (MBA), has received recognition with significant publication and more than 160 design awards including the 2016 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture. A monograph of Marlon;s early work, “An Architecture of the Ozarks: The Works of Marlon Blackwell”, was published in 2005 and a new monograph titled “ Radical Practice ” , is set for publication in 2022 |
Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in November 2022
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Describe how Marlon Blackwell’s Shelby Farms project encompassed solutions for sustainability and socio-economic diversity for the greater well-being of its occupants.
- Discuss how projects like the Thaden School are designed to support education in ways that empower communities toward better health, safety, and well-being.
- Identify strategies used in these projects to not only incorporate green building elements but also fold in cultural elements in ways that enhance a community’s identity.
- Explain how certain design elements in these projects encouraged healthy activity, community safety, and shared well-being.
