Kirksey Architecture's Innovative Mass Timber Design Showcases the History Behind Texas’ Pine Curtain
The Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks fittingly broke ground on the state’s first mass timber dining hall on a college campus. To further the university’s mission to reconnect with its roots by reinvigorating the East Texas southern yellow pine (SYP) lumber industry, Kirksey Architecture was hired to design a building showcasing mass timber construction to students, staff, and the local East Texas Community.
History: Situated in the center of Texas’ Piney Woods, SFA’s home in Nacogdoches is closely tied to the state's latent forestry and lumber industry. University leadership envisions an updated campus highlighting the local economy by exemplifying how mass timber can be used to boost local timber landowners, timber-adjacent industries, and sustainable building practices. This spring, the University’s overall plan to update and modernize old buildings began with the construction of the new Stephen F. Austin State University Eastside Dining Hall project on the former site of freshman Residence Hall 16.
Design: The single-story 40,000 square-foot dining hall split across two spaces prominently features southern yellow pine in design and function. Glue-laminated slanted V columns and beams support the exterior cross-laminated timber roof deck, elevated in the middle to create a breezy paseo and overhanging patio between the two main gathering areas. Dark window mullions are spaced to be reminiscent of a forest, with exterior brickwork work tying the new building’s facade into design elements found throughout the campus. Exposed SYP inside provides warmth, furthering the strong indoor-outdoor connection throughout the space. Interior accents of Lumberjack Purple around warm wood create a strong connection to the University. The combined result is a striking building on a highly trafficked corner designed to make a statement about the University’s bright future.
Purpose: The Lumberjacks were awarded $100,000 as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service award through the Mass Timber University Grant Program aimed at supporting the construction of mass timber buildings on college campuses throughout the country. Home to the Texas Forestry Association’s annual conference and Stephen F. Austin’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry & Agriculture, Nacogdoches is a natural fit for such an innovative project.
Kirksey Architecture’s design weaves together, history, innovation, and purpose. Through form and function, Kirksey’s work highlighting local mass timber enhances daily student life, demonstrating SFA’s commitment to its students and the East Texas community.