Join us in Northwest Arkansas in the Ozark Mountains from April 3 to 7, 2024, for the first AIA COD Conference on Design of 2024. Entrepreneurship, culture and Ozarks hospitality have been historic drivers for growth in the region; now design excellence is also a key catalyst. This area of the Ozarks is exceptional, in that it is home to two AIA Gold Medal Award recipients--E. Fay Jones, FAIA (1990) and Marlon Blackwell, FAIA (2020)—along with recent work by Gold Medalist, Carol Ross Barney, FAIA (2023).
Our four-day conference program will highlight these and other award-winning architects in Bentonville, Eureka Springs, Fayetteville, Rogers, and Springdale. We will explore the role of design in modern landscapes, historic mountain towns, and experience groundbreaking projects including AIA 25-year Award Thorncrown Chapel and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art /The Momentary. Civic leaders, designers and clients will lead us through prominent projects of the Walton Family Foundation NWA Design Excellence Program, such as Railyard Park, TheatreSquared, Thaden School, and recently completed Springdale Municipal Campus.
We will hear about new educational, community and recreational initiatives by Grafton Architects, Marlon Blackwell, Leers Weinzapfel Associates, Modus Studio, Rojkind Arquitectos, and tour projects in progress, such as Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation, Town Branch Housing, The Ledger, Razorback Greenway.
Learning Units: 25 LUs / HSW for attending full conference