Thaden School campus
Timothy Hursley Thaden School campus

“The exterior composition is well done, and each space has a unique solution.” —Juror Chrysanthi Stockwell, HGA

For the Thaden School, in Bentonville, Ark., TM Light turned architectural elements into armatures for light at multiple scales. At the heart of campus, linear LED fixtures concealed in the punched roof openings of the “Reels” Administrative and Arts Building, designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects, transform porch skylights into lanterns at night. A plywood roof serves as a continual reflector of light throughout the building, warmed by in-grade uplights at the porches, highlighted by concealed linear grazers at the corridors, and washed by direct/indirect pendants at the classrooms. Light intrinsic to the space and material of the building also occurs on the detail scale; the lockers in the corridor are illuminated by linear LEDs integrated into a custom metal shelf extrusion.

The rooting of the lighting within the architectural fabric amplifies in scale at the Barn building, which anchors the campus’s eastern portion visually and provides a large flexible space for sports and gatherings. Mimicking the appearance of lighting leaking from a dilapidated barn, the façade spacing is modulated to allow the entire building to glow in the landscape.

Exterior, "Reels" Administrative and Arts Building
Timothy Hursley Exterior, "Reels" Administrative and Arts Building
Exterior, "Reels" Administrative and Arts Building
Timothy Hursley Exterior, "Reels" Administrative and Arts Building
Porch, "Reels"
Timothy Hursley Porch, "Reels"
Skylight, "Reels"
Timothy Hursley Skylight, "Reels"
Corridor, "Reels" showing custom metal shelf extrusion detail above lockers
Timothy Hursley Corridor, "Reels" showing custom metal shelf extrusion detail above lockers
Corridor, "Reels"
Timothy Hursley Corridor, "Reels"
Classroom, "Reels"
Timothy Hursley Classroom, "Reels"
Exterior, Barn
Timothy Hursley Exterior, Barn
Exterior, Barn
Timothy Hursley Exterior, Barn

Details
Project Name: Thaden School
Location: Bentonville, Ark.
Client/Owner: Thaden School
Lighting Designer: TM Light • Alex Miller, Aoife O'Leary
Architect: Marlon Blackwell Architects • Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, Meryati Johari Blackwell, AIA, Josh Matthews, AIA, Bradford Payne, AIA, Spencer Curtis, AIA, Steve Reyenga, Assoc. AIA
Photographer: Timothy Hursley

Project Size: 34,000 square feet
Project Cost: N/A
Lighting Cost: $ 408,000
Watts per Square Foot: 0.85
Code Compliance: Arkansas 2014 Energy Code
Lighting Product Manufacturers: Elemental LED, Ecosense, Nulite, Bega, Elemental LED, Lucifer Lighting Co.