BIG Designs Three-Building STEM Campus in Bentonville, Arkansas
BIG–Bjarke Ingels Group, in collaboration with Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, has unveiled plans for a new STEM university campus in Bentonville, Arkansas, on the former site of Walmart's headquarters. The 422,000-square-foot project spans two city blocks and includes an academic building, a makerspace, and a student residence with 400 beds, along with green spaces and public squares. The campus is organized around a historic rail line and features landscape design inspired by the Ozark region. The makerspace will be clad in Corten steel, the academic building in copper, and the residence in red-hued cement panels. The university aims to welcome its first students in 2029.
Key facts
- BIG–Bjarke Ingels Group selected to design STEM university campus in Bentonville, Arkansas.
- Project located on former Walmart headquarters site near downtown Bentonville.
- Campus comprises three buildings on two city blocks, totaling 422,000 square feet.
- Includes academic building, makerspace, student residence (400 beds), green spaces, and public squares.
- Designed in collaboration with Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects as Architect of Record.
- Landscape design references Ozark region and Bentonville's urban parks.
- Buildings use regional materials: weathered steel, copper, red-hued cement panels.
- University plans to welcome first class in 2029.
Entities
Artists
- Bjarke Ingels
- Thomas Christoffersen
- Alice Walton
Institutions
- BIG–Bjarke Ingels Group
- Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects
- Walmart
- Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
- Polk Stanley Wilcox (PSW)
- Gensler
- SWA
- Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
- Crystal Bridges
- BIG
- Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
- Safdie Architects
- Marlon Blackwell Architects
- Johns Hopkins University
- the Momentary
- Johns Hopkins
- Claremont McKenna
Locations
- Bentonville
- Arkansas
- United States
- Ozark region
- Northwest Arkansas
- Little Rock
- Fayetteville
- Maryland
- Ozarks
- Gateway Park
- Bentonville's downtown square