Now in his 80s, John Ed Anthony, chairman of Bearden, Ark.-based Anthony Timberlands Inc., is at the age where he’s considering the impact of his life and his family business, which includes Anthony Oak Flooring and spans seven generations. Those considerations resulted in a massive contribution to the University of Arkansas and the broader world of wood products: the $40 million Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. Designed by Grafton Architects of Dublin, Ireland, in association with Modus Studio of Fayetteville and landscape architects Ground Control of Doylestown, Pa., the center was dedicated in August. The 44,763-square-foot primarily mass timber building houses classrooms, studios, seminar and conference spaces, a flexible lecture hall and gallery space atop a double-height 11,000-square-foot fabrication and design-build shop floor. “Our chairman, John Ed Anthony … is in the process of leaving a legacy behind,” explains Chris McQueen, operations manager at Anthony Oak Flooring Inc. in Magnolia, Ark. “He wants students to have access to wood and learn that consuming wood is not bad for the environment. The purpose is to introduce students to wood but also figure out more ways to use it in architecture and building products.” That’s a legacy that should benefit generations to come.
