Arkansas Tech Student Union + Recreation Center & Mullens Plaza Russellville, AR

Completed 2026

At the heart of Arkansas Tech University’s Russellville campus, a new chapter in campus life is unfolding. Anchored by the forthcoming student union and recreation center and centered on the newly envisioned Mullens Plaza, this project transforms a fractured crossroads of roads and parking into a lively campus core, a place for people, place, and shared experience.

More than a circulation node, Mullens Plaza will become a pedestrian-first social landscape, a dynamic outdoor room that supports everyday rhythms of student life, fosters informal encounter, and reinforces the unique ecological identity of the Arkansas Valley. Its open form blurs the edges between programmed plaza space and active landscape, inviting casual lounging, spontaneous gatherings, outdoor learning, and wellness-oriented movement.

Framing this public realm is the new Student Union + Recreation Center, a hub that elevates student belonging and campus culture. Located at a strategic crossroads, the building and plaza together act as a campus living room, a place of arrival, connection, and activity from dawn through dusk.

This landscape vision shifts the campus from a car-oriented network to a people-oriented place, knitting together academic, residential, and social zones through expanded walkability and intuitive spatial sequencing. It prioritizes the student experience of movement, outdoor engagement, and placemaking, supporting wellness, collaboration, and community identity in equal measure.

In its design and spirit, Mullens Plaza and the surrounding grounds are more than a venue — they are a campus stage, shaping how students, faculty, and visitors interact with their environment and with each other every day.

In collaboration SmithGroup and Miller Boskus Lack.