Located at the threshold of the University of Arkansas campus, the Anthony Timberlands Center advances a new model for material-forward education, research, and design. Designed by Grafton Architects with Modus Studio, the center anchors the Windgate Art and Design District, establishing a regional and national hub for timber innovation.
At once a workshop and academic hall, the 45,000-square-foot facility houses graduate studios, fabrication labs, and a high-bay research space—all organized around a structural framework that expresses mass timber’s potential at scale. At its core: 1,079 m3 of Southern Yellow Pine cross-laminated timber, supplied by Mercer Mass Timber.
MMT provided design-assist services early in the project’s development, helping shape an efficient, constructible timber system tailored to the region. The scope included CLT roof assemblies, stair cores and landings, floor plates, and wall panels—each component manufactured with precision and assembled offsite to reduce install durations and ensure quality control.
Southern Yellow Pine was chosen not only for its structural performance, but for its proximity and ecological relevance. The timber used was SFI-certified, with 30% chain-of-custody certified and the remainder sustainability sourced – reinforcing the project’s environmental goals while supporting Arkansas’s working forests. Its warmth and grain bring visual continuity to a program dedicated to making and material craft—transforming timber from subject of study to spatial experience.
Throughout the building, mass timber is deployed with clarity and care—from balloon-framed CLT shear walls that rise over 60 feet to long-span trusses that define the fabrication hall. The structure itself becomes a pedagogical tool, one that engages students and researchers in the processes of design, testing, and assembly.
Biophilic intent shapes both atmosphere and approach. Light filters through exposed timber, courtyards open to native groves, and circulation paths are framed by views to the Ozark landscape. The result is a facility that grounds technical exploration in place-based design—a building that teaches by doing, and inspires by example.
The Anthony Timberlands Center has received broad international recognition, including:
- Overall Winner and Education Category Winner at the AR Future Projects Awards (2023)
- WAFX Building Technology Award, Visualization Prize, and Shortlist in Future Projects: Education at the World Architecture Festival (2023)
