Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
Size: 2 acres
Type: Intensive Green Roof
Contractor: Crossland Construction Company Architect: Polk Stanley Wilcox Landscape Architect: OSD
Soil Provider: Hydrotech
Plant Provider: Sharum Garden Center Photographer: Ashley Thompson Photography
Located in the growing medical and educational district of Bentonville, the Alice Walton School of Medicine campus reflects a forward-thinking approach to both healthcare and the built environment. Designed to support innovation and well-being, the campus integrates natural systems into its architecture, creating spaces that foster connection between people, landscape, and learning. The expansive rooftop park plays an important role in this vision, transforming a large rooftop into a dynamic planted environment that supports ecological performance while enhancing the overall campus experience.
The roof was constructed as a large intensive green roof system designed to support a diverse plant community and accommodate significant structural considerations. More than 5,000 cubic yards of specialized growing media were installed across the roof to support native plantings including sedges, indigo, ferns, lilies, stonecrop, and asters. To shape the rooftop landscape while maintaining structural efficiency, over 98,000 cubic feet of geofoam was used beneath the planting areas and pathways. This lightweight material allowed the design team to create varying soil depths and integrated tree pits while keeping the load manageable for the structure below. Over the course of a year-long installation, cranes lifted more than 1,100 large bags of growing media to the roof, while soil blowers distributed the material across the planting areas to establish the growing environment.
Beyond its impressive scale, the green roof contributes to the long-term environmental performance of the campus. The planted system slows stormwater runoff by allowing rainfall to be absorbed into the soil and used by vegetation before excess water moves through the site’s drainage systems and detention pond. As the landscape continues to mature, the rooftop ecosystem will provide habitat, seasonal color, and a living demonstration of sustainable design. Together with the surrounding campus architecture, the green roof reflects the school’s commitment to health, resilience, and thoughtful integration of nature within the built environment.
Videographer: Iron Lotus Creative
