The design of the new Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, Ark., aims to blend the building and landscape, creating connections with the surrounding woodlands and the Ozark Mountains. Currently in the design development phase, construction of the 154,000 sf building is scheduled to begin in Spring 2023. The plan is to welcome the first class of medical students in Fall 2025, pending accreditation. It will offer a medical degree-granting program that integrates conventional medicine with holistic principles and self-care practices.
The landscape design by OSD includes a network of hiking and biking trails to make it easy for students to reach the school’s sister organization, Whole Health Institute, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The site’s landscape features include a woodland meditation and healing gardens, wetland, outdoor classrooms, urban farming space, and a rooftop terrace that connects to balconies, a cafe, and an amphitheater.
The building’s front corner will elevate above the ground, creating a protective canopy that allows community access through and onto the building. Whether arriving by foot, bicycle, or vehicle, the campus will invite students and visitors under the abstracted “bluff shelter” on the building’s public façade. “The design integrates the building into both the site and the community, engaging the land as an abstraction of Ozark geology that embraces the principles of integrated medicine, and the holistic link between mental, physical, and spiritual well-being,” said Wesley Walls, AIA, principal, Polk Stanley Wilcox, the project’s architect.
“Designing the landscape for the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine truly requires an integrative approach that considers the experience, influence, and impact of nature on the mind, body, and spirit,” said Simon David, founding principal and creative director, OSD. The project offers an exciting new paradigm of healing and learning environments that holistically blends building and landscape to create a deeply rooted connection to the Bentonville community, the world-class arts environment of Crystal Bridges, and the wider ecosystem and magic of the Ozarks.”
On the building team:
Owner and/or developer: Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
Design architect: Polk Stanley Wilcox
MEP engineer: Henderson Engineers
Structural engineer: Martin / Martin Consulting Engineers
Landscape architect: OSD
Related Stories
University Buildings | Jul 6, 2022
Wenzhou-Kean University opens a campus building that bridges China’s past and future
After pandemic-related stops and starts, Wenzhou-Kean University’s Ge Hekai Hall has finally begun to see full occupancy.
| Jun 20, 2022
An architectural view of school safety and security
With threats ranging from severe weather to active shooters, school leaders, designers, and security consultants face many challenges in creating safe environments that allow children to thrive.
School Construction | Jun 20, 2022
A charter high school breaks ground in L.A.’s Koreatown
A new charter school has broken ground in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood.
University Buildings | Jun 9, 2022
IDEA Factory at U. of Maryland defies gravity
The E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering has a gravity-defying form: The seven-story building’s solid upper floors emerge above the lighter, mostly glass base.
University Buildings | Jun 7, 2022
Newfoundland university STEM building emulates natural elements, local traditions
Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) recently opened a new building that will provide interdisciplinary learning and research space for Faculties of Science and Engineering.
Museums | May 31, 2022
University of Texas at Dallas breaks ground on new 12-acre cultural district
The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) recently broke ground on the Crow Museum of Asian Art, the first phase of a new 12-acre cultural district on campus.
Building Team | May 20, 2022
Caltech breaks ground on a new center to study climate and sustainability
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) recently broke ground on its Resnick Sustainability Resource Center.
Laboratories | May 20, 2022
Brutalist former Berkeley Art Museum transformed into modern life science lab
After extensive renovation and an addition, the former Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive at the University of California, Berkeley campus reopened in May 2022 as a modern life science lab building.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 19, 2022
Northern Arizona University opens a new training center for its student athletes
In Flagstaff, Ariz. Northern Arizona University (NAU) has opened its new Student-Athlete High Performance Center.
University Buildings | May 16, 2022
Yale’s newly renovated Schwarzman Center enriches student campus social life
Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) recently unveiled the design of their restoration of the Schwarzman Center at Yale University, which includes dining spaces, a bar, and a food shop.
