The key feature of the 708-student housing complex that opened in 2019 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville is embedded in its name—Adohi Hall. Adohi is the Cherokee word for “woods,” and wood is what makes this $79 million project stand out.
The facility is the first large-scale mass timber residence hall in the United States, says Tom Chung, an architect and principal with Leers Weinzapfel Associates, which led the design team on the project. Using mass timber construction, schools and universities can build facilities more quickly, more quietly and more sustainably.
“Mass timber is changing how construction is done,” says Chung. “Construction is completed more quickly, there is much less labor needed, it’s quieter, and there is significantly less construction waste,” says Chung.
According to the American Wood Council, mass timber involves the…
