Marlon Blackwell Church Wins World Architecture Festival Award

Marlon Blackwell's St. Nicholas Eastern Orthodox Church in Springdale, Arkansas has won the World’s Best Civic and Community Building award at this year's World Architecture Festival in Barcelona. We featued the project on the cover of our November 2011 "Made in America" issue. Read the press release from the festival, which runs through Novmeber 4, and watch our video tour of the project below...

Press release - 3 November 2011

Project from United States wins World’s Best Civic and Community Building at World Architecture Festival Awards 2011

“The designers on this project really made architecture out of nothing”

Saint Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, Arkansas, USA, designed by Marlon Blackwell Architect, has won the ‘World’s Best Civic and Community Building’ award at the prestigious World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards 2011.

The presentation of the WAF Awards are taking place during the largest global celebration of architecture - the World Architecture Festival, which is being held at the Centre Convencions International Barcelona (CCIB) this week.

The church is the result of a transformation of an existing metal shop building into a sanctuary and fellowship hall in anticipation of a larger adjacent sanctuary on the same site. The simple original structure is enveloped by a new skin, obscuring and refining the original gabled form. Although a small structure, its bold form makes it visible and recognizable from the interstate (I-540) which passes nearby.

The building was selected by a panel of esteemed architects and designers, beating off competition from a shortlist of 15 entries.

The jury commended the project, saying “This section was one of the strongest sections with four or five outstanding projects. It is really important to make the point that the designers on this project really made architecture out of nothing – the project was fully developed and really fulfilled the private and public component.”