Lakeport Plantation to Host World Architecture Day Speaker
LAKE VILLAGE – In observance of World Architecture Day, Lakeport Plantation and the Alex Foundation will host a lecture and reception for Alison Turner, director of community education and assistant professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Fay Jones School of Architecture.
The event is Monday, Oct. 2, at 5:30 p.m. at Lakeport Plantation, 601 Highway 142, Lake Village. The lecture and reception are free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Dr. Blake Wintory, assistant director and facilities manager, at 870-265-6031.
Turner began her tenure at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design in 2008, teaching design studio, environmental technology and elective courses revolving around issues of sustainability and housing. That same year, she started her own practice, Sitio Architecture and Design, focusing on residential and commercial projects with an emphasis on regional, environmentally responsive and sustainable architecture.
In both her teaching and practice, she is particularly interested in the origin and evolution of regional architecture and how past models can merge with contemporary ideas about the nature of environmentally responsive architecture.
Turner received her master of architecture degree from Parsons School of Design, where she was awarded the Alpha Rho Chi medal and her bachelor of interior architecture from Kansas State University, where she was the graduation speaker representing interior architecture. After graduating from Parsons, Turner spent several years practicing in New York City before moving to Fayetteville, where she continues to practice and design.
Created by the Union International des Architects (UIA) in 2005, World Architecture Day is celebrated on the first Monday of October with the aim of reminding the world about the collective responsibility of architects in designing our future cities and settlements. This year, the UIA has selected “Climate Change Action!” as the theme of the day, seeking to highlight the threat of climate change and rapid urbanization’s role in increasing fuel energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Alex Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, engages youth in architecture, design and the built environment. For more information on the Alex Foundation, visit www.alex-foundation.org.
The Lakeport Plantation is an Arkansas State University Heritage Site. Constructed in 1859, Lakeport is one of Arkansas's premier historic structures and still retains many of its original finishes and architectural details. Researching and interpreting the people and cultures that shaped plantation life in the Mississippi River Delta, Lakeport focuses on the antebellum, Civil War and Reconstruction Periods. For more information, visit lakeport.AState.edu.
