Irish Pritzker Prize laureates Grafton Architects have completed their first U.S. building — the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation at the University of Arkansas. The mass-timber structure, designed in collaboration with Modus Studio, serves as a powerful statement on the future of sustainable academic architecture.
Spanning 45,000 square feet, the four-story facility anchors the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design’s growing campus. Constructed almost entirely from Arkansas-sourced timber, it houses studios, an auditorium, seminar rooms, and an 11,000-square-foot fabrication workshop. Its bold, “chunky” timber frame, with columns up to 42 inches wide and beams spanning 50 feet, highlights the expressive and structural potential of wood.
Beyond its architectural feat, the center promotes wood innovation and local industry, aligning with the state’s forestry economy. The project overcame pandemic-era challenges and cost escalations—rising to $38.5 million—to deliver a design that merges craft, sustainability, and educational purpose, standing as a new benchmark for mass-timber construction in the U.S.
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