The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas has broken ground on the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation.
The facility will be in the Windgate Art and Design District on the university's Fayetteville campus and will focus on expanding the use of Arkansas-sourced timber and wood in design and construction, the university says in a news release.
The center will serve as the epicenter for the Fay Jones School’s multiple timber and wood design initiatives, house the school’s design-build program and fabrication technologies laboratories, and serve as the new home for the school’s graduate program in timber and wood design.
The $26.5 million, 45,000-square-foot building will include a high-bay fabrication workshop, studios, seminar and conference rooms, faculty offices, and outdoor terraces. The center will also include a small auditorium and a public exhibition space.
Other features: areas for wood fabrication and metal fabrication, an external fabrication yard, and a 3D printing lab. It will be equipped with a five-axis CNC router, large format laser cutter, large format water jet, and articulated robotic arms.
This project is being designed and constructed with a goal of meeting LEED Gold standards.
Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2022; completion is expected in 2024.
The architects are Grafton Architects and modus studio.
