Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
Created by a design collective led by Leers Weinzapfel Associates in collaboration with Modus Studio, Mackey Mitchell Architects, and Olin Partnership, Adohi Hall is a groundbreaking initiative for the Universityof Arkansas and the State at large.
This project has recently won a 2023 Future House Award by Global Design News and The Chicago Athenaeum Museum for Architecture and Design.
The 708-bed complex demonstrates a pioneering use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and an innovative approach to live-learn communities, with embedded arts and academic spaces fostering student collaboration and interactive learning.
A bold demonstration of sustainability, it also signifies potential economic development for Arkansas’ burgeoning timber industry.
While the historic core of the University of Arkansas campus is located atop Fayetteville’s McIlroy Hill, the new residence hall occupies a prominent place at its base on the southern end of campus, along with a linear, sloping four-acre site.
Bound on the north by 1960s residence halls, on the east by Stadium Drive, and on the west and south by a large arena and related athletic facilities, the site nestles the new buildings within a generous protective buffer of trees and plantings.
The housing group is a serpentine band of student rooms that define three interconnected courtyard spaces, each with a distinctive character.
Exteriors feature a light metal jacket of zinc-toned siding with accent panels of textured copper-toned and white siding that create a floating band of living space above the natural landscape of trees, lawns, terraces, and sitting steps.
Undulating landforms, rock outcroppings, and drifts of native planting extend the vernacular of the Oak Ridge Trail down into the project area, creating comfortable places for people and a landscape ecology reminiscent of the native Ozark Plateau of Northwest Arkansas.
An emphasis on access to nature resonates throughout the project.
The landscape and buildings are woven together as an extension of the forested hillside to create unique outdoor spaces with strong relationships to the architecture.
A ground-level passage descends from north to south, through open breezeways connecting the exterior courtyards.
A stand of existing mature trees is the centerpiece of the northernmost courtyard; at mid-slope, a lively terrace marks the heart of the community; and in the lower courtyard, sitting steps follow the building down the hill to a sheltered lawn.
Along this passage, common spaces are closely linked to the landscape.
The “front porch” in the northernmost building functions as the key point of entry for the entire complex; the “cabin” at the midpoint of the passage is the main gathering space, comprising a community kitchen, lounges, a quiet hearth, and a rooftop terrace; and the “workshops” of the lower courtyard house a dynamic life/learn program of performance spaces, music and recording studios, and maker spaces that enhance the campus-wide program for the arts.
Each residential floor is identified by a vibrant leaf icon wall mural, celebrating the native tree species of the region.
The main stair and elevator open into a series of double-height lounges and kitchen spaces, joining upper and lower floors and inviting expanded community interaction.
Each floor provides a variety of living configurations, offering students the choice of semi-suite (double rooms with private bath) or pod (six to eight double rooms clustered around a shared bath and common room) rooms.
At the end of each wing, large study rooms with generous windows look out onto the rolling hills beyond, creating a series of lanterns along Stadium Drive.
The warmth of the project’s exposed structural wood ceilings will be apparent in each student room, the study rooms, floor lounges, and ground floor common spaces, and wood columns will bring the beauty of the material within reach for all.
The “cabin” will also include a wood ceiling and trusses that span the full width of the lounge spaces. The name of the new complex – “Adohi,” a Cherokee phrase meaning “coming into the forest” – recognizes the enduring importance of wood and sustainable forestry to the region.
Project: Adohi Hall
Architects: Leers Weinzapfel Associates
Architects of Record: Modus StudioAssociate Architects: Mackey Mitchell ArchitectsLandscape Architects: Olin
Client: University of Arkansas
Contractor: Nabholz
Photographers: Timothy Hursley
