We are honored that Smokey Hollow was once again recognized for its impact on the community. The Tallahassee Leon County Historic Preservation Awards Program gave recognition to the project for Preservation Education. Smokey Hollow is a commemorative park that pays tribute to a long-standing African-American community lost to the construction of state government buildings in the 1960s. Referencing the shotgun houses that lined the neighborhood streets at the time, the Smokey Hollow Commemoration incorporates three ‘spirit’ houses which provide a faint memory of what once existed in the area, and help to tell the story of the community. We are grateful to all of the community leaders, historical researchers, and former neighborhood residents for making this happen.

Today is take your child to work day, and this little guy is excited to be in the ALW studio. In addition to helping his mom with marketing tasks, he gets some first-hand exposure to the fascinating design process – from hand sketches to SketchUp and ArchiCAD. “Wow, it’s so cool how architects can start with these drawings and turn them into realistic looking buildings on their computers!”

We had a great opportunity this morning to share our passionate approach to design and architecture with some of FAMU’s first year architecture students. We love the chance to not only reach out to our growing community of creative people but to also bring them into our think tank and share insight on our process and studio philosophy.

In April, the FSU Oglesby Student Union design team went out on the road to visit several student union facilities on other campuses, including Duke University and NC State.