Posted on May 2, 2013

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) in Chicago has announced that Polk Stanley Wilcox Architect?s design of the El Dorado Conference Center in El Dorado, Arkansas has been honored with the highest recognition possible, a National Award, in its prestigious Annual Awards.

In all, just four building projects from around the country earned National Awards in the 2013 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel awards program (IDEAS2), recently announced during AISC?s 2013 Conference in St. Louis.

An award presentation will be scheduled for this summer in El Dorado. A panel of design and construction professionals identified National and Merit Awards in three categories, based on constructed value. Other National winners included the Hi23 Condo Tower in New York City, the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte,NC, and the City Creek Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Merit winners included the Barclays Center in New York City (home of the NBA?s Nets), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Springfield, Virginia, and the Twilight Epiphany at Rice University.

CDI, Inc. of Little Rock was the General Contractor, while TME of Little Rock served as structural engineer for the difficult project that combined “town to gown?, joining a student services center for Southark Community College and a Public Conference Center that serves the region.

According to design architect Reese Rowland, “Successful architecture tells the unique story of a specific place, combining history with future aspirations to create a timeless quality. We could not be more proud of the unified effort of our Owner/design/construction team to create an iconic symbol for El Dorado that perfectly reflects the heritage of place while creating a forward thinking,technologically advanced public facility. The key to the Conference Center?s success comes from a vision set forth by the three ownership groups to not only build a functional public meeting and education facility, but also a symbol of renewal for El Dorado. Being listed alongside these other nationally recognized projects is a strong indication that this vision was successfully achieved, helping create a new sense of pride for El Dorado. We are grateful to the City of El Dorado and the economic development board that represents its Citizens, Murphy Oil, and Southark Community College for allowing us to contribute to this incredibly important project for not only El Dorado, but southern Arkansas as a whole.?

This is the third AISC National Award for Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, with the others being the Arkansas Studies Institute in Little Rock, and Heifer International?s World Headquarters in Little Rock, which also won architecture?s highest honor: the American Institute of Architect?s 2008 National Institute Honor Award.

Polk Stanley Wilcox (PSW) is a 35 year old full-service architectural and interior design firm with offices in Little Rock and Fayetteville, Arkansas, focused on educational, corporate/commercial, healthcare, master planning and renovation/adaptive reuse projects. We seek appropriate solutions focused on quality and value, with a strong commitment to client-service and follow through. “