Education, Mass Timber

Scott Family Amazeum

Community Space Inspiring Creativity and Curiosity

The Scott Family Amazeum is a 50,000 square foot children’s discovery museum in Bentonville, AK that provides educational learning experiences through hands-on interactive exhibits that foster a sense of place, showcase technology, endear respect for the natural world.

Scott Family Amazeum exterior at night

The structure is low-slung and features a curved roof structure comprised of glued-laminated timber beams and wood decking and utilizes conventional steel frame construction. The exterior of the building is clad in zinc metal panels, vertical tongue and groove cedar and clear and colored glazing. Cedar cladding is prominently featured in the additive forms that append the main building mass.

Haizlip Studio originally envisioned the glulam structure as a composite structure, with both the parallel and perpendicular beams in one plane, instead of stacked. It was an elegant design requiring complex structural connections that were ultimately deemed too expensive during the value-engineering phase.

Wood was used in the building process to complement the surrounding natural environment of Northwest Arkansas that could not be expressed through any other material.

The building contains 20,000 square feet of indoor exhibits including an art studio, learning labs, and Maker Space.

Scott Family Amazeum exterior from angle

Project Details

  • Architect
    • Haizlip Studio
  • Contractor/Builder
    • Nabholz Construction
  • Engineers
    • CEI Engineering Associates, Inc.
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