Gensler设计的沃尔玛新总部园区丨美国阿肯色

Gensler's new mass timber-rich Walmart campus opens in Arkansas

By

Josh Niland

One of twelve mass timber office buildings. Image courtesy Walmart

The

Gensler

-designed 350-acre New Home Office campus for

Walmart

has been unveiled in Bentonville,

Arkansas

, marking the realization of the retail giant’s transformative "vision" that

first began in 2019

.

One of twelve mass timber office buildings. Image courtesy Walmart

In total, the project includes 12

mass timber

office buildings (two of which have now opened) that represent the “largest application” of the material to date in the United States according to a press release. To these LEED Platinum-certified buildings are added a 360,000-square-foot wellness/fitness center, an on-site childcare facility, an amphitheater, a food hall, a welcome center, and a 200,000-square-foot auditorium and conference space. Multiple street-level retail opportunities are included in the design as well.

Walton Family Whole Health and Fitness center. Image courtesy Walmart

Sam Walton Hall. Image courtesy Walmart

Surrounding the built components is a rich "Big Nature" landscaped tapestry of outdoor spaces that supports the better wellness of the associates on-site with 13 acres worth of lakes, 750,000 different native plants, and over 5,000 newly planted trees.

8th & Plater dining hall. Image courtesy Walmart

Sam Walton Hall. Image courtesy Walmart

Smart technology is enabled to manage both the water systems and buildings on the 100% renewables-powered campus, of which a total of 50% is reserved as green space. Seven miles of pedestrian paths and bike trails connected to the Razorback Regional Greenway, a rentable bike fleet, and 300 EV charging stations are another critical component from multiple sustainability standpoints.

Image courtesy Walmart

Helen's Amphitheater. Image courtesy Walmart

Walmart's CEO says: "Our new Home Office honors our heritage and the contributions that generations of associates have made to help people save and have a better life. Our founder, Sam Walton, knew that when we all work together, ideas flourish, and this campus will allow us to keep making a positive difference in our customers’ lives for generations to come."

Image courtesy Walmart

Gensler, which is currently hiring for a

Retail & Hospitality Project Architect

in London via

Archinect Jobs

, is also investing in mass timber as the pivotal material for its multi-site

data center

designs for Microsoft in

northern Virginia

after reporting a total of $1.83 billion in global revenues in 2023.