Heartland Whole Health Institute — aerial exterior view, Bentonville AR

01 — Corporate / Wellness

Heartland Whole Health Institute — In Detail Design Assist

Heartland Whole Health Institute

Bentonville, Arkansas

84,700 SF

Project Team

Architecture & InteriorsMarlon Blackwell Architects

General ContractorBaldwin & Shell Construction

The Heartland Whole Health Institute is a museum-quality workplace designed for integrated wellness and cultural collaboration located on the 120-acre campus of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Our team collaborated with Baldwin & Shell Construction Company and Marlon Blackwell Architects providing design-assist and millwork subcontracting services to help bring the meditation space millwork and lobby reception desk to life.

Cost EstimationTechnical Design Shop DrawingsProject ManagementProcurement

01 — Planning

Our first challenge was to bring the sketches and renderings for the circular reception desk located within the main lobby to life. We worked closely with the design team assisting with constructability, technical design, and cost modeling to ensure the fabrication approach aligned with their vision and their client’s budget. From there, our scope expanded to include the custom elements within the second-floor meditation space which included complex curved bench seating and built-in millwork storage.

Meditation space axonometric shop drawing

Images by Marlon Blackwell Architects — lobby desk rendering (left), meditation space axon (right)

02 — Design

Our first step was to collaborate with the MBA Team to finalize the design and understand which features were most important to their vision. We then took their curved form and digitally modeled it to the precision that fabrication demands while simultaneously finishing out specific details and finishes for accurate cost estimation. The desk’s thermoformed solid surface shell sweeps through a 12’-10” diameter with wall segments meeting at repeating 30° and 49.6° angles, all while holding a consistent reveal against the painted wood cabinetry underneath. The meditation space, which was also circular in design, contained an integrated bench with compound curves in multiple directions. Finalizing the technical design and fabrication approach through digital modeling and shop drawings early on would lay the foundation for a successful build.

In Detail studio — technical modeling overlaid on fabrication in progress

Meditation bench — exploded assembly and overview drawings

Meditation space shop drawings (left), lobby reception desk installation (right)

Technical Design — Reception Desk

Underneath the desk’s outer solid surface shell are CNC-cut plywood rib assemblies that help support the solid surface outer shell while also creating a framework for the interior curved cabinetry to attach to. Every rib was numbered and sequenced before it reached the shop floor, with wire chases built directly into the structure for the desk’s integrated electrical for outlets and lighting.

Reception desk circular plan sections drawing

Plywood rib structure fully assembled for test fitting

Reception desk circular plan sections (left), plywood rib structure assembled for test fitting (right)

Technical Design — Meditation Space

The meditation space presented its own set of fabrication challenges — a circular built-in bench with compound curves in multiple directions, integrated speaker bays, and a subfloor infill system requiring precise coordination with the existing structure. We developed a full shop drawing package defining the rib assembly, section types, access panel locations, and speaker bay construction before any material was cut.