The South Arkansas Arts Center will host an exhibit of an architectural study of the downtown portion of El Dorado prepared by architecture students from the University of Texas at Arlington beginning Saturday in the Price Gallery.
The architectural studio was tasked with developing designs for a conceptual hotel in El Dorado adjacent to the Murphy Arts District. Last June, Professor George Gintole’s graduate students explored the entire town of El Dorado and particularly the downtown core.
In the ensuing weeks, students concluded that a hotel with a range of businesses, such as a furniture showroom, a brewery, or an urban garden would enliven the urban surroundings and improve the enjoyment of the area of the courthouse square, the Murphy Arts District and the South Arkansas Community College for both locals and visitors alike, spurring the regional and national interest in South Arkansas.
A large model of the downtown area and the top four selected entries, represented in model form as well as in drawings, will be on exhibit at SAAC beginning Saturday. Gintole and the students will be on hand at the opening reception at 5 p.m. Saturday, as well as the two jurors, El Dorado architect Douglas Stanton and Christopher Rice of Austin, Texas, who chose the entries that will be on site for viewing. There will be a presentation of the projects followed by a discussion period. Attendees will be able to enjoy the reception of the Members’ Art Show immediately following.
Architectural designer and tenured professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Architecture, George Gintole studied architecture and design at Cooper Union and received his master of architecture degree from Princeton University. He also taught design courses at Harvard University, the University of Lund (Sweden) and the University of Virginia. Gintole is a principal at The Art of Logic, with design projects across America and the UK, and is an honorary member of the AIA.
Stanton is a registered architect, practicing in Los Angeles since 1992, on a wide range of residential and commercial projects. He has taught architectural design and lecture courses at the University of Arkansas and the University of Texas at Arlington, and has recently relocated to El Dorado to collaborate with Champagnolle Design. Stanton has a bachelor of environmental design degree from Texas A&M University and a master of architecture degree from Princeton University.
Rice is a registered architect and has over 30 years of experience in planning and urban design, working on projects all over the nation. His planning career includes downtown urban plans, college and university campus master plan, athletic master plans, research parks and a variety of government and health care master plans. Rice has a bachelor of science in architecture from the University of Texas at Arlington and a master of architecture from the University of Maryland.
For more information, call the SAAC office or visit saac-arts.org. SAAC is located at 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado.