Department of Agriculture Altheimer Laboratory

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Size 20,000 sq/ft

Completion Date 2021

Project Details New Construction Site Work

Services Planning, Programming, Architecture, Interior Design, Laboratory Planning/Design, Furnishing Selection

The Altheimer Laboratory, design by WER Architects in association with HDR, is a unit of the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences and a part of the Division of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas. It is recognized internationally as an outstanding facility for research on chemical and physiological improvements in crop production. Research functions concentrate on crop production and physiology, pesticide residues, weed science and soil testing, but also extend to such related areas as turfgrass, entomology, pathology and horticulture.

The new laboratory building will be 20,000 sq/ft of laboratory and office space with advanced scientific equipment which makes possible in-depth analyses of the effects of various practices on plants, on crop production and the environment. Lab spaces include Pesticide Lab, Radio Isotope Lab, Seed and Soils Labs, Pesticide Spray Booth, Environmental Growth Chambers, Seed and Soils Grinding Rooms, Cold Seed Storage and associated office and work space for scientists post docs and graduate students.

To compliment the two adjacent buildings on the agriculture campus, also designed by WER, the exterior materials - steel entry canopy, stone accent wall, corrugated wall panels and vertical proportion windows - reinforce the connection between the buildings, while each having their own separate identities. The project showcases the high-tech nature of 21st century agricultural research while maintaining a symbolic link to farm industrial architecture and the natural surroundings.