An applied research facility centered on Arkansas timber and wood products that will offer U of Arkansas students hands-on experience with innovative design and construction materials is another step closer to becoming reality. The Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation marked a milestone in the construction process on Sept. 17 with a “topping out” ceremony. More than 120 people gathered at the site of the future center to celebrate this construction industry tradition, which, for this building and its cascading roof plane, recognizes the positioning of the highest point of the structure. Attendees also signed the wooden structural beam that will be the last piece to be installed in the overall structure next month. The Anthony Timberlands Center is part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, the state’s only school of architecture and design.