The Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation has officially opened at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, marking a significant milestone as Grafton Architects' first completed project in the United States. The 42,000-square-foot mass-timber building was designed in collaboration with local firm Modus Studio and represents a new standard for environmentally-responsive campus architecture that combines cutting-edge material research with regional identity.
The center serves dual purposes as both an academic facility and a working laboratory specifically focused on timber design, sustainable forestry, and digital fabrication. The building houses classrooms, studios, galleries, and features a impressive double-height fabrication hall, making it a central component of the university's expanding Art and Design District. Dean Peter MacKeith characterizes the center as a "living curriculum" that enables students to engage with the complete lifecycle of architecture, from material sourcing through final assembly, while simultaneously supporting faculty research into affordable housing, forestry practices, and emerging timber technologies.
Staying true to Grafton Architects' material-driven design philosophy, the Pritzker Prize-winning firm conceived the building as a "Story Book of Timber." The structure showcases multiple layers of native wood species, including Southern Yellow Pine, white oak, red cedar, and other varieties sourced directly from Arkansas forests. The architects topped the structure with an innovative cascading roof system constructed from cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels, which are supported by monumental glue-laminated beams that ingeniously function as rainwater gutters.
This sophisticated roof system serves multiple functions as both infrastructure and climate mediator. It provides crucial shading for interior spaces from intense southern sun exposure, efficiently directs rainwater runoff to a bioswale for natural water management, and helps define the center's distinctive architectural character. Throughout the building, circulation routes are strategically threaded between the fabrication hall and teaching spaces, creating carefully framed views toward the central courtyard and surrounding campus areas.
The building incorporates numerous passive design strategies to minimize environmental impact and reduce dependency on energy-intensive active systems like air conditioning. These sustainable features include calibrated glazing designed to optimize natural light while controlling heat gain, and natural ventilation systems that maintain comfortable interior conditions using Arkansas's climate patterns.
The partnership between Dublin-based Grafton Architects and Arkansas-based Modus Studio successfully brought together international design experience with essential regional construction expertise. While Grafton Architects shaped the overall conceptual framework and design vision, the Modus Studio team translated these ideas into practical local material systems and fabrication methods, ensuring that Arkansas's forests and manufacturing industries were integral to the construction process. This collaboration effectively merges global architectural discourse with authentic regional culture and materials.
Chris Baribeau of Modus Studio emphasized the project's ambitious goal "to bridge international design with regional application," a careful balance that is clearly evident in both the building's technical sophistication and its material authenticity. The center demonstrates how world-class architecture can be achieved while remaining deeply rooted in local resources and building traditions.
The Anthony Timberlands Center is strategically located within the University of Arkansas's growing Art and Design District, joining other significant facilities including the existing Windgate Studio and Design Center and the forthcoming Windgate Gallery and Foundations Building. A thoughtfully designed shaded pedestrian courtyard, planted with native loblolly pines, physically connects these structures while serving as a landscaped outdoor classroom space. This integrated campus development reflects the university's commitment to creating a comprehensive creative arts environment that supports both education and innovation in design and materials research.
