innovate arkansas

(To see the list of the largest Arkansas architectural firms, click here to view a pdf. A spreadsheet version is also available.)

"Green" - sustainable design - has been gaining in popularity among architects for several years.

One architectural firm, Benchmark Group of Rogers, decided to put its money where its mouth was.

The firm, headed by Jim and Paul Parks, is tied for fifth on Arkansas Business' annual list of the state's largest architectural firms.

Currently occupying seven leased buildings on Walnut Street in Rogers, the firm, which has 265 employees, is placing the final touches on its new home office building on Second Street.

"When we decided to build a new office," Jim Parks said, "it was only natural to consider going green."

After running the numbers, the firm found the plan economically feasible, and it applied for LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for the 118,000-SF, four-story building.

The building, which has a building permit value of $14 million, has the usual environmental and energy-efficient features, such as rooftop reflection to keep the building cooler, rainwater capture from the roof that goes to an underground storage tank to water the landscape, light pollution reduction that allows the lights on the parking lot not to bleed over onto the neighbor's property and, to improve air quality, use of materials inside that do not emit odors.

There will also be an exercise room, three small nap rooms, a lactation room for nursing mothers and a walking trail around the property.

But one unusual feature is the insulation, which comes from recycled denim material that comes off the end rolls and which used to go to landfills. It is reconstituted to look like Fiberglas insulation but is colored blue, like blue jeans.

Jim Parks likes the fact that the denim insulation comes from cotton, a renewable resource, and that it eliminates a source of waste.

In moving from "seven old leaky buildings," Parks said, the firm is "doubling the square footage while energy costs will drop by a third."

Business Still Good

Architects throughout the state said business remains good, despite the economic slowdown that has affected other sectors. The architects surveyed aren't into home design as a rule, and even though some may do home design, the decline in the housing market hasn't affected them. Several said they would hire more architects if they were available.

Cromwell Architects Engineers of Little Rock remains the largest firm based in Arkansas. It has 29 architects on its staff.

Coming in second is Wittenberg Delony & Davidson Architects, also of Little Rock, with 20 registered architects.

Taggart Foster Currence Gray Architects of North Little Rock is third with 12 architects, while Witsell Evans & Rasco PA of Little Rock is a step behind with 11.

Two other firms tied with Benchmark for fifth place, each with nine architects. They are Crafton Tull Sparks of Rogers and The Wilcox Group Architects of Little Rock.

The Cromwell firm recently an-nounced the election of eight new stockholders, bringing the total number of active employee-stockholders to 55.

The new stockholders are Daryl L. Davis, Christopher R. East, Corey Imhoff, Anthony Jacuzzi, Jordan W. Lane, Jeff A. Rice, Debra R. Roberts and Bruce E. Southerland.