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We work for developers, architects, municipalities, and non-profits to produce urban design concepts that unite diverse constituencies around compelling visions for future development. Our collaborative process threads conceptual plans through permitting and construction, maintaining the vision throughout.
WALMART
MBL was proud to be the only local design firm engaged in what is likely to be a major legacy project for Northwest Arkansas: the new Walmart corporate campus in Bentonville AR. In partnership with Sasaki and Gensler, MBL was instrumental in creating a 50-year vision for the home office. MBL developed key concepts such as incorporating the Razorback Greenway through the heart of campus, and locating the campus on both sides of an urbanized 8th street. Roger Boskus and Matt Hoffman were instrumental in seeing these critical concepts become a permanent part of the overall vision. MBL’s focus on high quality public spaces in and around 8th Street led in part to our selection as the architect for the campus’s amenity buildings – which are heavily focused on this public way. In the coming years MBL’s partnership with Walmart will add a central campus auditorium, food hall, welcome center, and other planned projects to the 8th Street corridor’s already significant investments. Collectively, MBL’s focus on community connected design will help make 8th Street a signature corridor for all of Northwest Arkansas. MBL’s expertise in zoning and development codes also led to a significant role in the development of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) submission for the entire campus. This critical document will provide entitlement for all current and future phases of the project, giving city leaders a sense of what to expect while providing Walmart with the flexibility it needs to adapt the campus to changing work climates. Construction is ongoing.
PATRIOT PARK
MBL used context-sensitive design to help navigate a complex web of City, County, and State agencies and bring affordable housing to veterans in the City of Fayetteville AR.
Patriot Park had been in concept for many months with different architects, struggling to gain support from key stakeholders among several overlapping layers of government. MBL was brought in to re-imagine the project and bring everyone together around a shared vision.
Beginning with urban site design, MBL moved the project away from previous plans that called for a large garden style apartment building on the heavily sloping site. MBL instead proposed a series of nine separate walkup buildings, each situated at a different elevation along the sloping terrain. The smaller buildings also allowed the project to fit in with the surrounding single-family neighborhood and architecturally respond to different frontage conditions that include both a significant commercial arterial as well as sleepy neighborhood streets.
Using the same prototypical approach MBL pioneered in it’s award-winning Pattern Zones projects, the firm designed a variegated series of high-efficiency walkup apartment buildings according to the Arkansas Usability Standards in Housing, which protect residents of affordable housing developments by going far beyond typical Fair Housing and building code standards.
The project is currently under construction and slated for completion in 2024.
PINNACLE VILLAGE
Pinnacle Village is a new mixed-use development located within the Pinnacle community of Rogers, Arkansas. Consisting of over 27 acres of development, Pinnacle Village includes multiple Class A office and apartment buildings, a boutique hotel, high-end single family residential units, outdoor amphitheater/ performance venue, social club and outdoor public plaza. Pinnacle Village is surrounded by the Pinnacle Entertainment District which includes a wide variety of shops, fast casual and high-end restaurants, as well as entertainment destinations like the Walmart AMP and Top Golf. Within a 2--mile radius of Pinnacle Village, you will find some of the world’s largest consumer packaged goods companies inclusive of Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Kellogg’s. Together with MBL Architecture, MBL Planning led design efforts on the site at every phase of development - from early concept in 2018, through breaking ground and installation of infrastructure in 2020, and finally into current architectural development and construction of several major projects within the site today.MBL looks forward to years of continued design leadership as Pinnacle Village matures into a major town center for the City of Rogers.
Cobblestone Farms
MBL partnered with a large team that includes nonprofits, religious leaders, farmers, and an affordable housing developer to bring a unique affordable housing project to West Fayetteville. In a collaborative effort, MBL led the design team through the master planning process, detailing spatial relationships between neighborhood residential, a church facility, a non-profit retail establishment, and a community farm. The plan prioritizes public spaces, bringing neighbors together around shared community amenities. MBL led the design team into architectural development of buildings within the community using the same prototypical approach we pioneered in our award winning Pattern Zones projects. Beginning with a basic palette of building types, architectural details and careful siting bring both variety and identity to the neighborhood. All buildings were designed according to the Arkansas Usability Standards in Housing, which protect residents of affordable housing developments by going far beyond typical Fair Housing and building code standards. The project is currently under construction and slated for completion in 2024.
