WER designed the Rice Research & Extension Center for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. The new center replaces several scattered buildings at the University’s campus and provides an updated facility for continued research and outreach in this most important agricultural community.

The University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center is located on 1,022 acres devoted to research in rice and rotation crops such as soybeans and wheat. In combination with the USDA/ARS National Rice Research Center located next door, the Center is the largest rice research location in the U.S. and is well known worldwide. Students, interns, and research and industry professionals visit frequently, staying from a day to a few years.

Research at the Center is applied and production-oriented. The faculty are engaged in research projects in plant breeding and genetics, pathology, entomology, agronomy, water conservation, physiology, and economics. The Extension faculty members disseminate the results from this research and demonstrate research applications on whole-field or whole-farm situations.

The central lobby and entry space connects administrative offices, a conference center, clean labs and support functions for faculty, staff and visitors. South of a central courtyard, a separate 12,000-square-foot building includes labs for rice breeding, entomology, agronomy, pathology, drying, milling, and seed storage with close access to the fields.