James Meyer Awarded AIA Emerging Professional Award

James Meyer, Associate AIA, was awarded the AIA Emerging Professional Award at the 2013 AIA Convention this past weekend. This award recognizes a new professional who has expanded the role of the architect through civic participation and professional mentorship, thereby representing the goals of AIA to a larger audience.

James is a project architect with WER Architects/Planners. He is also a founding member of studioMAIN, a board member of the Architecture + Design Network, the Associate Director of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the rising Regional Associate Director for the Gulf States Region of the American Institute of Architects.

James attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and attained his Bachelors of Architecture in 2006. Upon his graduation he was awarded a prestigious travelling fellowship from the Skidmore Owings and Merrill Foundation as part of their annual portfolio competition. He is the only Arkansas student to ever have been awarded the fellowship and was the highest rated undergraduate student that year. On his Fellowship, he travelled throughout Europe studying many of the great cities in the world, with a particular focus on public space and city fabrics.

James returned to Little Rock in 2007 and has been using his hardwork, dedication, and passion for architecture and placemaking to make an impact on both his city and his profession. Through the SoMa-based community outreach and design center, studioMAIN, he has been one of the key cogs in the PopUp Main Street event and the Envision Little Rock Competition, and is currently working to develop a program to get design-based learning into local classrooms.

Over the course of his short career, James has had the opportunity to work on projects at the University of Arkansas Community Design Center and WER Architects/Planners, which have won over 40 local, national, and international design awards. James is committed to bringing that level of excellence to everything he does, and believes that every project must consider its role in the wider debate of our built environment.