Architecture alumni to be named AIA Fellows

Melissa Farling and Alan McGuinn, alumni of the UNC Charlotte School of Architecture, will be named Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) at the organization’s national convention being held June 26-28 in Chicago. This AIA honor is bestowed upon architects who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level and who have achieved an exemplary standard of excellence in the profession.

Farling is currently a project and research director at Jones Studio, located in Phoenix. She actively investigates the effects of architecture on behavior. Her interest in the behavioral impacts of architecture began in college, when she was encouraged to combine two of her passions – architecture and psychology. She decided to explore the effects of architectural spaces on behavior in highly restrictive environments and was drawn to prison design – the most restrictive environment, with a mission to “correct” or “rehabilitate.” In her 25 years as a professional architect, Farling has focused on large-scale public projects, successfully applying research to designs for correctional facilities, courthouses, land ports of entry, K-12 and higher education facilities, behavioral health facilities, commercial projects and private residences. Results of her research-based design work indicate successful behavioral outcomes, such as increased collaboration, decreased use of medications, decreased number of incidents and reduction of stress. Since 2005, Farling has led groundbreaking workshops and studies in neuroscience and architecture. She has served as co-chair of the AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) Research Committee since 2006, co-organizing and co-leading the first criminal justice neuroscience-architecture workshops.

McGuinn lives in Asheville, where his work focuses on engaging the public and building consensus through collaborative design practices. In 2006, he co-founded the Asheville Design Center, a nonprofit organization that seeks to create healthy, thriving and equitable communities in western North Carolina through community-based design. In 2011, he started his own firm, ARCA Design, to create the same spirit of participatory design and collaboration in his professional practice. He also has represented the profession of architecture through his service to the American Institute of Architects. In 1996, McGuinn was the president of AIA’s Asheville section, after serving on the local section board for four years. He was elected president of AIA North Carolina in 2005 after serving more than eight years on the state board as section representative, director, secretary and treasurer for the chapter. For his service to AIANC, McGuinn received the William H. Dietrich Service Medal in 2008, the chapter’s highest recognition. In 2013, he received the Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit from the Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina for outstanding achievement in the restoration of the Historic Biltmore School.