Though he was born in Germany, Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, is a product of the American South. As a traveling bible salesman, he experienced the South’s simple dignity and rich culture, which helped shape his worldview. Now, from a career spanning three decades, Blackwell has amassed an important body of transcendent work in the hills of Northwest Arkansas. In a time of ceaseless superficial messages, Blackwell’s work remains purely authentic.

Blackwell’s work emerges from a deep understanding of site, landscape, art, and craft. His “glocal” approach to architecture is reflected in his education, with studies at Auburn University and Syracuse University in Florence. Despite operating in a region where architecture can be overlooked, his firm, Marlon Blackwell Architects, is eager to tackle any project type that serves the common good, regardless of scale and budget, and has been widely recognized with more than 120 national and 14 international design awards... [+]