October 15, 2025
Marlon Blackwell/Steve Dumez MCHAP Chair Lecture
Marlon Blackwell and Steve Dumez, part of the winning group of the fifth Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP), will speak to students, faculty, and the public about their project and work ideals at an event scheduled for 5 p.m. in Center Core of S. R. Crown Hall on October 15.
MCHAP is a coveted biennial award created by the College of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology in 2013. The 2025 winning project, Thaden School, is a 30-acre independent middle and high school campus in Bentonville, Arkansas. The design reimagines the relationship between learning, landscape, and community. The campus integrates architecture and ecology to support hands-on, interdisciplinary learning while honoring the region’s agricultural heritage.
Thaden School was completed in 2019 and designed by EskewDumezRipple, Marlon Blackwell Architects, and Andropogon Associates.