The renovation of this vacated and blighted Tyson Foods plant has become a 75,000 sf food hub combining food production, local craft brewery, retail and restaurants with a culinary arts school.
While connected to the regional trail system, the exterior space provides an extension of the rehabilitated structure creating vibrant outdoor spaces while integrating art. The vine structure provides a connection to the landscape while the perforations are an abstraction of Arkansas’ Buffalo River, designed with a local artist.
The plant material reflects the eco-region including many pollinator species commonly found in the historic Osage Prairie which at one time dominated the Bentonville landscape. This once abundant impervious site now collects stormwater benefitting the landscape and watershed while blueberries and Arkansas Black Apple trees truly integrate the Culinary Arts School into the surrounding landscape.
To design environments using strategies that incorporate stormwater to create innovative, resourceful, and compatible spaces for people, plants, and wildlife that enhance community and socio-economic well-being.
