{"id":10184,"date":"2026-06-19T17:00:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T17:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/?p=10184"},"modified":"2026-06-26T15:26:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T15:26:26","slug":"big-designs-new-kind-of-urban-university-for-bentonville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/19\/big-designs-new-kind-of-urban-university-for-bentonville\/","title":{"rendered":"BIG designs “new kind of urban university” for Bentonville"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BIG<\/div>\n

Architecture studio BIG<\/a> has designed a series of buildings for a university being established by the members of the Walton family in Bentonville<\/a>, Arkansas, USA with three structures that expand on the local vernacular.<\/span><\/p>\n

Members of the Walton family, who are best known as founders of retail giant Walmart, announced that BIG would design the campus on the site of the former Walmart Home Office. The company’s new Gensler-designed corporate headquarters<\/a> is being built nearby.<\/p>\n

\"BIG
BIG has designed a campus for a STEM university in Bentonville, Arkansas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Billed as a STEM-focused university, the campus will have\u00a0three significant buildings covering two city blocks, with 422,000 square feet (39,205 square metres) of space planned for the programme. Local studio Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects<\/a> will serve as the architect of record.<\/p>\n

One of the primary goals, according to BIG founder Bjarke Ingels, is the separation of boundaries between the research university and the public, opening up the buildings to create a sense of connection with the fast-growing community in Bentonville.<\/p>\n

\"BIG
The spaces were designed to be open to the community and reference vernacular architecture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The new STEM university in downtown Bentonville seeks to bridge the disconnect that often exists between academia and the working world around it,” said Ingels.<\/p>\n

“For the new campus, we have sought to break down the boundaries between campus and community through a lively new integrated neighborhood for faculty and citizens alike,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“We are honored to work with the Walton family on imagining the future academic environment for a new kind of urban university in the heart of Bentonville.”<\/p>\n

\"BIG
An earthy colour palette unites the three distinct buildings, including the stacked Academic Building<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As seen in the renderings, the three primary buildings on the site will be distinct in form and function, united by an earth-toned colour generated in part by the planned use of weathering steel.<\/p>\n

The three buildings will form an L, surrounding an outdoor space.<\/p>\n

\"BIG
The Makerspace was designed as a series of vitrines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Academic Building will feature a series of hipped connections at the slabs. Its facade will be covered in louvres, with alternating voids on the upper floors that bring additional light into a planned central atrium.<\/p>\n

The alternation of forms and voids will create a stacking effect that was designed to reference the vernacular log structures of the region. It will also feature a breezeway meant to evoke the dogtrot typology common in the region.<\/p>\n