The University of Arkansas’s new 202,027-sf, 708-bed residence hall, dubbed the Stadium Drive Residence Halls, is set to become the first large-scale mass timber residence hall and living learning setting in the country.
The project is currently under construction on a linear four-acre site that slopes from north to south. Within this relatively small, densely planted buffer zone the project is shaped by the concept of “a cabin in the woods” that provides a new university gateway. A serpentine band of student rooms defines three protected and distinctive courtyard spaces.
Rendering courtesy Leers Weinzapfel Associates, Modus Studios, Mackey Mitchell
The north building includes a “front porch” that is the main entry point of the complex and a “cabin” at the passage’s midpoint that is the main gathering space. The “cabin” includes a community kitchen, lounges, a quiet hearth, and a rooftop terrace. The lower courtyard includes workshops that comprise performance spaces, music and recording studios, and maker spaces.
Student rooms are arranged in wings that comprise semi-suites for two students and pods for six to eight students. Study rooms at the end of each wing are naturally lit via large windows and create a series of “lanterns” along Stadium Drive. The buildings’ inner cores feature two-story lounges with residential kitchens designed for community interaction between the upper and lower floors.
Wood is on full display throughout the project with exposed structural wood ceilings present in student rooms, study rooms, floor lounges, and ground-level common spaces. The “cabin” also includes wood ceilings and trusses that span the full width of the lounges.
Rendering courtesy Leers Weinzapfel Associates, Modus Studios, Mackey Mitchell
The exterior of the project highlights metal. Zinc-toned siding with accent panels of textured copper-toned and white siding creates a floating band of living space above the natural landscape. A ground-level passage winds through the landscape and connects the various courtyards.
The project, which is the result of a design collaborative led by Leers Weinzapfel Associates, Modus Studio, Mackey Mitchell Architects, and OLIN is scheduled for completion in fall 2019.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Mar 7, 2022
A new facility can offer thousands of equine therapy sessions a year
At its new Spur campus in Denver, Colorado State University (CSU) will bring its expertise to the public by offering free educational experiences to visitors of all ages. Spur’s three buildings—Hydro, Terra, and Vida—will focus, respectively, on water, earth, and life.
University Buildings | Mar 4, 2022
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee celebrates new chemistry building with groundbreaking
The building will serve as a gateway for all STEM and health science related majors, housing the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Higher Education | Mar 1, 2022
SRG Partnership designs a nautically inspired space for maritime science
A community college in Oregon has begun construction on a new building devoted to maritime science. With it, the school hopes to solidify its position as a major industrial and marine technology center in the Pacific Northwest.
Education Facilities | Feb 24, 2022
New ASU science and tech building features innovative sustainability elements
Arizona State University’s Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 7, completed in December 2021, was constructed with numerous innovative sustainability elements.
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2022
On-campus performing arts centers and museums can be talent magnets for universities
Cultural facilities are changing the way prospective students and parents view higher education campuses.
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2022
UPenn converts a library past its prime to a tech-integrated learning and maker
In September 2021, Penn reopened its renovated and expanded library as an open center for cross-disciplinary learning, prototyping, and collaboration. Now called Biotech Commons, the 17,000-sf building supports new modes of research by offering a range of spaces and services that is free to be scheduled by any student or faculty member.
University Buildings | Feb 17, 2022
A vacated school in St. Louis is turned into a center where suppliers exchange ideas
In 1871, The Carondelet School, designed by Frederick William Raeder, opened to educate more than 400 children of laborers and manufacturers in St. Louis. The building is getting a second lease on life, as it has undergone a $2 million renovation by goBRANDgo!, a marketing firm for the manufacturing and industrial sectors.
University Buildings | Feb 15, 2022
Ohio University's Chilled Water Plant #3 brings high design to a campus utility
Leers Weinzapfel Associates has also designed chiller plants on the campuses of Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Harvard University’s Allston Campus, and the Ohio State University.
University Buildings | Feb 14, 2022
Leers Weinzapfel Associates to renovate, expand the Williams College Davis Center
The project will add almost 8,000 sf of space.
Coronavirus | Jan 20, 2022
Advances and challenges in improving indoor air quality in commercial buildings
Michael Dreidger, CEO of IAQ tech startup Airsset speaks with BD+C's John Caulfield about how building owners and property managers can improve their buildings' air quality.
