First, find Bear Park North and make sure you have your pre-printed pass ready for your dashboard. Next, walk 15 minutes through campus to find Carrington Hall. Finally, find the office of admissions to check in for your visit.

That is how parents and future students used to experience on a campus visit. When students first visit Missouri State University today, they are ushered to the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center.

The Welcome Center was recently awarded the American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum for its innovation and striking design.

This 13,000-square-foot facility serves as the institution’s front door. The building boasts a two-story lobby and a 100-seat presentation room as a multi-purpose venue for events. The lobby also houses a 20-foot maroon and white bear logo suspended from the ceiling.

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An initiation station

The building is a centerpiece for the university campus and is the designated starting point for campus tours.

Matt Morris, vice president of administrative services, said the award brings welcome recognition to the architecture of Missouri State’s campus. The office of planning, design and construction, led by Doug Sampson, worked with the architecture firm Dake-Wells, specifically Andrew Wells, who led the design of the building.

“It is quite an honor for the Welcome Center to be recognized by the Chicago Athenaeum with the American Architecture Award,” said Wells, chief architect on the project. “It is a prestigious awards program and it’s humbling to be included on such a list.”

About the award

The Chicago Athenaeum is a global nonprofit education and research institute that utilizes a panel of seven architects and artists from around the world to honor exemplary design and urbanism in the United States.

The American Architecture Award is the nation’s highest public award given by a non-commercial, non-trade affiliated institution. There were 300 entries, and only 79 won awards. Among them were skyscrapers, corporate headquarters, governmental buildings, science and technology centers, and other designs.

For more information, contact Morris at 417-836-8505.