Contact: Sammy McDavid
Both directly and indirectly, the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University is a big winner in this year's state design competition.
Of eight honor awards given recently at the annual convention of the American Institute of Architects/Mississippi Chapter:
--Two recognized projects directed by MSU faculty member and students,
--Two went to a retired faculty member now designing residential units in Starkville, and
--Three were won by graduates now in private practice in Hattiesburg and Jackson.
A total of 34 projects were considered by a four-person design jury meeting last month in Philadelphia, Pa. The winners were announced earlier this month to members of the state AIA body meeting in Sandestin, Fla.
MSU associate professor Shannon R. Criss received two awards for her leadership of projects involving proposals for a downtown park in Okolona and for a collection of architectural design guidelines prepared for the City of Tupelo. Collectively, these projects also involved visiting assistant professors Nils R. Gore and John G. Poros and numerous architecture majors.
Professor emeritus Bob Ford received separate awards for residential projects he and his wife Martha are developing on Kirkland Circle and on Cooper Lane in Starkville. Design and detailing facets at both areas were cited for special praise.
As for School of Architecture graduates, Larry A. Albert of Albert and Associates in Hattiesburg was cited for his creativity in the restoration of Laurel's train depot.
Richard H. McNeel of Johnson Bailey Henderson McNeel of Jackson won praise for the renovation of MSU's Perry Cafeteria, a 77-year-old Gothic-style building and Mississippi Landmark whose restoration also has been honored by the Mississippi Heritage Trust.
Also in the capital city is Eric C. Tscherter of Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons/Ltd. who took honors for his design of the east grandstand expansion at the University of Mississippi's Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Albert is a 1978 MSU graduate; McNeel, 1979; and Tscherter, 1993.
Jackson architect Jim Eley, chair of the Mississippi AIA honor awards program, said the collection of awards "indicates the maturity of the School of Architecture," which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year as the state's only professional training program of its kind.
"This speaks very well of the quality of graduates that Mississippi State is producing," Eley said. "The school has been in existence long enough that its graduates are beginning to have a significant impact on architectural design in the state."
The 1999 design jury included Pennsylvania architects Tony Atkin, Peter Bohlin, Bernie Cywinski, and Dick Meyer.
Kathy C. Jackson, AIA/Mississippi executive director, said the jurors represented design-oriented small, medium and large office practitioners with varying degrees of academic involvement. "The jury's composition assured representation of diverse interests and the insight of broad project experience," she added.
Juror Cywinski said the nearly three dozen submitted projects represented a range of work, all with demonstrated professionalism and creativity.
"This overall quality set the tone for our lively debates and enabled us to come to unanimous agreement in conferring these awards," he said.