Promotion Announcement: Derek Needham

Derek Needham

Senior Associate

With an extensive mixed-use residential and retail experience, Derek has helped lead this division of the firm. This division of the firm has grown substantially under his guidance. Whether the project is large or small, he provides leadership, organization, and clear communication with the project team. In addition to his project management skills, he has extensive knowledge of rendering programs that he utilizes with the client and team throughout the design and construction phase and is active in managing IT in the firm. Derek received his Bachelor of Architecture from Auburn University.

Jeremy Cutts Wins AIA Alabama Young Architect Award

We are honored to announce that Jeremy Cutts, an Associate at Williams Blackstock, has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 AIA Alabama Young Architects Award! This award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the architecture profession early in their careers. Congratulations on this incredible achievement, Jeremy!

2021 AIA Alabama Awards

We had a great evening representing the firm at the 2021 AIA Alabama Conference on Architecture, taking home awards for Auburn University Mell Classroom, 2200 Magnolia, The Switch, and AIA Alabama Young Architect of The Year.

Auburn University Mell Classroom

• Merit Award

As a transformational environment embodying the spirit and promotion of learning, the Mell Classroom Building is an effective addition and new entry to the Ralph Brown Draughon Library that serves as an academic “living room” at the heart of the campus. The project met the challenge to transform and advance the academic experience for both students and faculty by promoting a series of teaching methods and interactions both inside and outside of the classroom. Tiered lecture halls, seminar, active learning classrooms, and team study rooms make up the core elements, with each integrating the latest technology to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, enable collaboration, and promote ongoing assessment and evolving pedagogy over the years.

2200 Magnolia

• Merit Award

Vacant for two decades, the unique 1920s corner structure was renovated to meet state and federal historic preservation requirements and qualified for tax credit funding in a fresh, simple way. The design of the contemporary 11,500 SF, 2-story, office buildout for Bayer Properties transforms the historic space with new life and transparency, encouraging collaboration and connectivity with the surroundings. Their restoration and integration into the design compliments the clean, simple elements that float within the envelope to create an inviting lobby, transitions over floor level differences inherent to the building, and an exciting variety of workspace types from private office to open office, and conferencing to phone booths.

The Switch

• People’s Choice Award

REV Birmingham's vision for The Switch - Birmingham’s future Innovation District. The goal was to design a vibrant space that brings new life, creativity and economic growth to the 4-5 block radius around the Innovation Depot. What was once a railroad switch, where trains could switch from one track to another, will hopefully be the next place for the people to come together and experience something new.

Brittany Foley to speak at AIA Conference →

This Saturday, Brittany Foley will present at AIA Alabama Now Meets Next Conference on successful strategies for sympathetic modernization of historic buildings through a case study analysis that covers contemporary considerations surrounding historic envelopes, building systems integration, and architectural material conservation.

Join us for the "Evicted" Opening Reception →

We're proud to be a sponsor of the EVICTED exhibit at the Birmingham Public Library. Join us on Thursday, October 21st for the opening reception. Sociologist and author Matthew Desmond worked with the National Building Museum to create an exhibition based on his book "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City" and will share his research and scale of the problem of eviction.

Tickets are FREE! Sign up today:

bit.ly/EvictedOpening

“In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible”