{"id":290049,"date":"2025-10-09T19:49:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T19:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/290049\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T19:49:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T19:49:14","slug":"grafton-architects-arrives-at-university-of-arkansas-with-mass-timber-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/290049\/","title":{"rendered":"grafton architects arrives at university of arkansas with mass-timber building"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Anthony Timberlands Center opens at university of arkansas<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation opens at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, marking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/grafton-architects\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Grafton Architects<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 first completed project in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/architecture-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>United States<\/strong><\/a>. Designed in collaboration with local firm Modus Studio, the 42,000-square-foot mass-<a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/wood-and-timber-architecture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>timber<\/strong><\/a> building stands as a new precedent for environmentally-responsive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/school-architecture-and-design\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>campus<\/strong><\/a> architecture informed by material research and regional identity.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The center is both an academic facility and a working laboratory dedicated to timber design, sustainable forestry, and digital fabrication. With classrooms, studios, galleries, and a double-height fabrication hall, the building is a core component of the university\u2019s growing Art and Design District.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Dean Peter MacKeith describes the center as \u2018a living curriculum\u2019 which allows students to engage with the full lifecycle of architecture, from material sourcing to assembly. At the same time, the project supports faculty research into affordable housing, forestry, and emerging timber technologies.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1158653 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"grafton architects university arkansas\" width=\"818\" height=\"654\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/grafton-architects-anthony-timberlands-center-mass-timber-university-arkansas-designboom-02.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>images \u00a9 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timothyhursley.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Hursley<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>grafton architects\u2019 \u2018story book of timber\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>True to Grafton Architects\u2019 material-driven approach, the building is conceived as a \u2018Story Book of Timber.\u2019 Its structure reveals layers of Southern Yellow Pine, white oak, red cedar, and other native species sourced from Arkansas forests. The Pritzker Prize-winning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.graftonarchitects.ie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>architects<\/strong><\/a> top the structure with a cascading roof system of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels supported by monumental glue-laminated beams that function as rainwater gutters.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This roof performs as both infrastructure and climate mediator \u2014 shading interiors from the southern sun, directing runoff to a bioswale, and defining the center\u2019s architectural character. Circulation routes thread between the fabrication hall and teaching spaces, opening framed views toward the courtyard and surrounding campus. Passive strategies, such as calibrated glazing and natural ventilation, reduce dependency on active systems like air conditioning.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1158652 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"grafton architects university arkansas\" width=\"818\" height=\"460\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/grafton-architects-anthony-timberlands-center-mass-timber-university-arkansas-designboom-01.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>the Anthony Timberlands Center opens as Grafton Architects\u2019 first project in the US<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>international design informed by local expertise<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The partnership between Grafton Architects and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.modusstudio.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Modus Studio<\/strong><\/a> brought together international design experience and regional construction expertise. While Grafton shaped the conceptual framework, the team at Modus translated it into local material systems and fabrication methods, and ensured that Arkansas\u2019s forests and industries were integral to the process.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Thus, the building merges global architectural discourse with regional culture. Chris Baribeau of Modus Studio emphasized the ambition to \u2018bridge international design with regional application,\u2019 a balance evident in the project\u2019s technical sophistication and material authenticity.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Located within the University of Arkansas\u2019 growing Art and Design District, the Anthony Timberlands Center adds to a larger campus district that includes the Windgate Studio and Design Center and the forthcoming Windgate Gallery and Foundations Building. A shaded pedestrian courtyard planted with loblolly pines connects the structures, and serves as a landscaped outdoor classroom.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1158654 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"grafton architects university arkansas\" width=\"818\" height=\"613\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/grafton-architects-anthony-timberlands-center-mass-timber-university-arkansas-designboom-03.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>the building joins the University of Arkansas\u2019 growing Art and Design District<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1158686 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"grafton architects arrives at university of arkansas with passive, mass-timber building\" width=\"818\" height=\"818\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/grafton-architects-anthony-timberlands-center-mass-timber-university-arkansas-designboom-014.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>its mass-timber structure uses locally-sourced lumber<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1158655 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"grafton architects university arkansas\" width=\"818\" height=\"655\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/grafton-architects-anthony-timberlands-center-mass-timber-university-arkansas-designboom-04.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>a cascading CLT roof shades interiors and channels rainwater into a bioswale<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anthony Timberlands Center opens at university of arkansas \u00a0 The Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":290050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[33003,648,1032,1033,171,148841,8497,67,132,68,20633],"class_list":{"0":"post-290049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-architecture-in-the-us","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-grafton-architects","14":"tag-school-architecture-and-design","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-wood-and-timber-architecture-and-design"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115345947951476902","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}