The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine has completed construction of a 154,000-square-foot facility in Bentonville, Arkansas, and opened its doors to its inaugural class of 48 medical students.
The Medical School says in a news release that it aims to train physicians who are devoted to transforming the health of medically underserved and rural communities in Arkansas, its surrounding states, and beyond.
The facility was designed as an abstraction of Ozark geology, with a dramatic front corner entry, creating a protective canopy inspired by natural limestone bluff shelters that are common in the region.
The front entrance is covered by a sloping glazing, a brass soffit with a satin finish, and a precast concrete exterior wall. Two-story-deep steel trusses that cantilever over 80 feet make up the primary structure, giving the building its gravity-defying shape.
The building’s glass exteriors reflect the surrounding forest and nearly 8,000-square-feet of perforated brass sunshades help mitigate heat while maximizing natural light.
The facility's landscape seamlessly connects the building with the Crystal Bridges Campus trail system, and supports well-being through green spaces that foster community, promote active lifestyles, and provide fresh food.
The landscape includes more than 550 new trees and 140,000 native plants. A two-acre rooftop park climbs 70 feet from the forest floor onto an overlook with views of the Ozark landscape.
The building architect is Polk Stanley Wilcox, and the landscape and rooftop park designer is OSD: Office of Strategy + Design. The general contractor is Crossland Construction.
