A renovation of a former Tyson Foods processing plant, the 8th Street Market is a 75,000sf culinary center that combines food production, food retail, and restaurants with one of the nation’s premiere culinary arts programs, Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food. The project is phase one of a 55-acre Master Plan for the Bentonville Market District. The design creates an authentic and unique destination for the public, catalyzed by the increased interest with local food production, communal activity, and the landscape. Hufft achieved this transformation by renovating the blighted food processing plant both aesthetically and functionally, while still retaining its history and place within the Market District.

The main conduit for this transformation and regrowth is called “The Vine”. The Vine is a shade structure that creates a covered band of activity around the existing building, recalling the traditional covered zones found in historic markets. Inspired by a combination of the traditional market typology and agricultural vernacular, it provides opportunities for activity while integrating landscape and site amenities. It will become a literal zone of regrowth as the landscape matures around the structure.