'Uniquely American' Thaden School design wins 2025 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize

The winner of the 2025 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize has been announced as the Thaden School, a stunning K-12 project in Bentonville, Arkansas, from Marlon Blackwell, EskewDumezRipple, and Andropogon Associates that was completed in 2019.

The school design beat out four other finalists in the Americas announced earlier this year, including Centro de Investigación Mar de Cortés by Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO in Mazatlán, Mexico; Clínica Veterinaria Guayaquil by adamo-faiden in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Ecoparque Bacalar by Colectivo C733 in Bacalar, Mexico; and Pumphouse by 5468796 Architecture in Winnipeg, Canada.

The design, a technology-laden 30-acre "urban pastoral" campus, merges vernacular forms with the contemporary thesis of architecture, resulting in a vibrant new hub for the community that evinces the tenet of indoor-outdoor post-pandemic learning environments while operating with an energy efficiency rating 70% greater than similar school building projects.

Framing their choice, the Prize’s Cycle 5 jury stated: "The rural context of Arkansas has inspired the design team to create a uniquely American spatial form that is simultaneously centered on the Thaden School academic community while remaining completely open to the surrounding community. The building’s character shapes a campus steeped in the rural culture of its place—the barn, the porch, and the long and low farm buildings are artfully assembled into a new academical village that powerfully interprets the pedagogical mission of 'youth learning by doing.' No singular space dominates the campus composition, but instead a series of distinctly public landscapes and gardens of different scales and character invites pedestrians, cyclists and even wildlife and weather to meander through. The collaborative effort of the design teams read through this powerful composition."

Its success can also be attributed to a community-led design process that included members of the school’s leadership, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders. The jury adds finally: "This flexible composition of the campus encourages learning, recreation, farming, and civic gathering. The collaborative effort of the design teams read through this powerful composition. The way one moves through space — punctuated by outward-facing porches, framed views, and covered passageways connected across gardens of different characters — are essential to the civic development of students."

The trio accepted the award via a special ceremony held in Chicago. They follow Taller Mauricio Rocha (2022); Barclay & Crousse (2018); SANAA (2016); Herzog & de Meuron (2014); and Álvaro Siza (2014) to become the seventh individual recipients of the Americas Prize. The 2025 MCHAP jury was comprised of Maurice Cox (chair), Giovvana Borasi, Gregg Pasquarelli, Mauricio Rocha, and Sofia von Ellrichshausen.