The design of Willard J. Walker Hall accommodates recent growth and makes room for future expansions at the University of Arkansas Walton College of Business. The building features innovative learning spaces, teaming rooms, industry partnering areas, and a trading room. From its prominent hillside location, it projects a contemporary image toward downtown Fayetteville.  

The building appears as a solid mass with a series of protruding glass boxes that correspond to key interior spaces. Inside, four staircases connect the five floors and lead through a succession of double-height spaces. Red, ochre, and gray stained concrete floors visually define a hierarchy of plazas, avenues, and streets. The enhanced vertical organization promotes connections between undergraduates, graduate students, and the various research centers. Walker Hall, along with the adjacent Center for Academic Excellence building, frames a new academic quadrangle. The strong massing, materials, and landscape unify the previously undefined campus precinct.

“I am pleased to say that we have delivered on the promise of the building’s vision to facilitate the creation of business knowledge and serve as a connecting point among faculty, students and the business world.”

- David Hyatt, Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration at the University of Arkansas