From Forest To Frame: Exploring Mass Timber Design
Tours & Day Trips | Registration opens Sunday, August 16, 2026 2:00 PM
Led by UA Professor of Architecture Peter MacKeith, this short course introduces participants to the principles of mass timber design and construction—a rapidly expanding field in contemporary architecture, engineering, and construction. The course explores the material’s roots in vernacular building traditions, its relationship to forestry and materials science, and its role in sustainable environmental design.
Participants will tour four mass timber facilities on the University of Arkansas campus: the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation, the Library Annex, the Adohi Residence Hall, and the I3R Research Facility. Architects, engineers, and contractors involved in each project will share insights into design logic, construction methods, and the future of mass timber.
The first session concludes with a guided tour of the Anthony Timberlands Center. During the second session, participants will meet at a designated location and travel together by bus to visit the remaining facilities.
Activity Level: 1 (Current Members Only)
This program will meet in person at the new Anthony Timberlands Center for Design, located off MLK, at 610 W Praxis Ln, Fayetteville, AR 72701. Parking locations will be identified to course participants; entrance to the building is from MLK Blvd.
For the 2nd session, participants will meet at OLLI HQ to catch the provided transportation for touring the other locations listed in the description.
Class changes occasionally happen; please watch for (and read) announcements or emails from OLLI regarding your class.
Click on the link below for a Google map shot of our location:
Anthony Timberland Center for Design
Peter MacKeith
Peter MacKeith is Professor of Architecture at the Fay Jones School of Architecture, University of Arkansas. He served as dean of the School from 2014-26, during which time he led the efforts to design and construct the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation, an exceptional “mass timber” facility for the research and development of new wood products and construction technologies. The Anthony Timberlands Center opened to great acclaim in August, 2025; it is the fourth mass timber building to be constructed on the U of A campus.