As a practice native to Northwest Arkansas, MBL was proud to be involved in one of the major legacy projects for the region: the new Walmart corporate campus in Bentonville. In partnership with Sasaki and Gensler, MBL was instrumental in creating a 50-year vision to transform the 350-acre site into the retail titan’s new home office. MBL developed key concepts such as incorporating the Razorback Greenway regional bicycle trail through the heart of campus and bringing to life an urbanized 8^th street. MBL was instrumental in seeing these critical concepts become a permanent part of the overall vision. Our obsession with bringing Northwest Arkansas’ famed biking culture to campus eventually became the ‘green groove’ – a forested swathe of trails and lakes that cuts across the campus and becomes a key organizing element in the master plan.

As the architect for several of the campus’s amenity buildings, MBL was able to bring our focus on high quality, pedestrian-friendly public spaces around 8^th Street to the front door of key projects. MBL’s partnership with Walmart brought to life the iconic campus auditorium, an innovative food hall, and two office and logistics buildings along the 8^th Street corridor. Our focus on community connected design will help make 8^th Street a signature corridor for all Northwest Arkansas.

MBL’s expertise in zoning and development codes also led to a significant role in crafting a Planned Unit Development (PUD) submission for the entire campus. This critical document provides entitlements 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 the evolving nature of the workplace.