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Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany

Architects: Leers Weinzapfel Associates
Associate Architects: Mackey Mitchell Architects, Modus Studio
Landscape Architects: OLINClient: University of Arkansas
Photographers: Timothy Hursley

Adohi Hall, a 708-bed, 200,000sf student housing complex at the University of Arkansas, demonstrates a pioneering use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and an innovative approach to live-learn communities, with embedded arts and academic spaces.

Upon its completion in August 2019, it was the largest CLT building in the US, supporting the economic potential of Arkansas’ burgeoning timber industry.

Inspired by the Ozark Forests of Northwest Arkansas and conceived as a “cabin in the woods,” Adohi is a serpentine band of rooms floating above landscaped courtyards.

A continuous path descends the length of the site, passing under the student rooms and through courtyards interwoven with ground floor public spaces, creating unique outdoor spaces with strong relationships to the social, workshop, and performance spaces within.

Above, wings of suites and pods provide a variety of living configurations. Double-height lounges at the juncture of wings include kitchen and social spaces, while quiet study rooms at the ends of the wings create a series of lanterns along Stadium Drive.

The warmth of the project’s exposed structural wood ceilings and columns are apparent in each student room, study room, floor lounge, and ground floor common spaces.

In consultation with the Cherokee Nation, the name of the new complex — “Adohi,” Cherokee for “coming into the forest” recognizes the enduring importance of sustainable forestry to the region.

The holistic approach to sustainability incorporates low embodied energy of building materials in addition to low operational energy. The significant use of sustainably sourced wood as the main structural material advances sustainable design, taking advantage of its inherent green properties as a renewable building material that sequesters carbon, and its low embodied carbon footprint.

A comprehensive life cycle analysis evaluated the complete energy used by the building — production, transportation, construction, maintenance, and demolition — and found mass timber construction significantly reduced carbon emissions equivalent to over a thousand cars off the road for a year.

As a building of many “firsts” in sustainability for the university and the state, Adohi Hall utilizes radiant slab heating and drain water heat recovery, making the complex 42% more energy efficient than a typical university residence hall.

The building also has a high-performance building envelope with beyond-code continuous exterior insulation and maximizes the impact of passive design strategies, such as limiting the overall window-wall ratio to 23% and aggressive solar heat gain control while allowing for views and connection to the landscape in every habitable space.