STRUCTURES + BUILDINGS
Stadium Drive Residence Halls, exterior. Image: courtesy of Leers Weinzapfel Associates, Modus Studio, and Mackey Mitchell Architects
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) might be an increasingly familiar sight in cosmopolitan markets across the world, but in Fayetteville, Ark., it’s a brand new thing. And introducing it as a viable construction op- tion hasn’t been easy. Challenges included a marathon RFP process, exhaustive communication with state and local officials, tons of pre- planning, and of course, the looming specter of the unknown. But Nabholz, the Arkansas-based construction company building the 202,000-square-foot mass-timber Stadium Drive Residence Halls at the University of Arkansas, is handling the challenge just fine. Expected to finish construction by fall 2019 when students arrive on campus, Nabholz looks to be the first company in the state to realize a major CLT project and, in the process, become the state’s leader when it comes to CLT construction and consulting. “How cool is that?” said Rob Dodd, executive vice president of opera- tions at Nabholz. CLT could even become a new business line for Nabholz. The com- pany was already offered a CLT project in Atlanta, but due to time conflicts with its current project, Nabholz had to turn the opportunity down. But the company is using its own forces for the residence halls, Ozarks bound Cross-laminated timber comes to the Natural State in the form of student dormitories at the University of Arkansas. By Richard Massey
so when this project wraps up, the company will have an experienced team ready for the next project that is sure to come its way. “Those opportunities do exist and will become more apparent all the time,” Dodd said. To get the job, Nabholz had to first beat out the competition, and that wasn’t a given. As many as a dozen companies and/or joint ventures submitted proposals, and half of that group made it to the short list. Nabholz reps traveled to the Pacific Northwest for consultation and fact-finding and were so committed and persuasive in their talks with university officials that the case was made that the residence halls could in fact be built with CLT — a possibility in which the university had expressed an interest, if the price was right, at some point during negotiations. “We knew there was a desire [for CLT],” said Dodd, noting that the residence halls could have been built with the standard tandem of con- crete and steel. Due in part to extraordinary shipping costs, Nabholz had to deal with a premium price for the CLT, but there are cost savings on the backend.
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csengineermag.com
july 2018
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