Archinect - News

Trahan Architects completes community-enhancing pavilion design in Arkansas

2024-12-16T12:49:00-05:00

A new pavilion design in Arkansas from Trahan Architects in a public park designed by Spackman Mossop Michaels is making space that encourages creative play while serving the greater needs of its community.

Funding for the project was provided through the Walton Family Foundation Design Excellence Program. The stunning images from photographer Tim Hursley capture its bold, "weightless" presence against the flat landscape.

Image: © Tim Hursley

Located in the city of Springdale, the new Performance Pavilion space designed for 10-acre Luther George Park is made from steel and doubles as a shade canopy when not in use as an events venue and gathering space for up to 3,000 people.

Image: © Tim Hursley

CIG Architecture, the Dutch manufacturer known for its work with Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson, and others, worked closely with the firm to produce the steel shell that will patina over time so as to reveal the effects of the local climate on the architecture.

Image: © Tim Hursley

Uses vary ...

U.S. Pavilion co-commissioners make the American porch a focus at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale

2024-08-14T14:07:00-04:00

A delegation from Arkansas will be traveling to Italy to represent the United States in its official pavilion at next year’s Venice Architecture Biennale.

The announcement was made Wednesday by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The group includes presenters from The University of Arkansas's Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design in Fayetteville, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, and the independent consultancy DesignConnects, which is based in New York City.

Guided by co-commissioners Peter MacKeith, Susan Chin, and Rod Bigelow, the U.S. Pavilion will showcase their presentation, PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity, which focuses on porches' role as a social and environmental space in the American context.

A "dynamic showcase" of projects and practices from around the country, the exhibition proposes a "positive, productive" presentation of American architecture that emphasizes both empathy and education.

Rela...

Safdie Architects shares construction update for Crystal Bridges Museum expansion

2024-04-04T12:41:00-04:00

The multi-year expansion of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is moving forward with an anticipated completion in 2025. Safdie Architects has shared photos of its construction progress via an Instagram post published Wednesday, April 3rd, from the site in Bentonville, Arkansas.

The project adds two new galleries worth a total of 100,000 square feet to the campus, increasing the size of its existing exhibition spaces by 65% while adding another 50% to its overall footprint. Safdie has been working on a master plan for the site, which includes the original pavilions he completed in 2011, for over 25 years.

Watch him speak with the museum's founder, Alice Walton, about its design here.

The project will culminate as his second American museum expansion following his work for the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts in 2003.

Next up, the firm is working on a new ski resort/residential concept in Vermont with PWP Landscape Architecture.

View this post on Instagram ...

Studio Gang to design major expansion to the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock

2023-08-10T13:35:00-04:00

The Clinton Foundation has announced that Studio Gang will design a “major expansion” to the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. The proposed expansion, details of which will be revealed next year, will seek to “help the Clinton Center fulfill its mission to engage and educate people about President Bill Clinton’s lifetime commitment to advancing opportunity for everybody.”

Existing Clinton Presidential Center. Image credit: Clinton Foundation

In addition to increasing the existing center’s capacity for exhibitions and conferences, the expansion will also include the new Hillary Rodham Clinton Institute which will hold the personal archives and papers of the former First Lady and Secretary of State.

Existing Choctaw Office Building at the Clinton Presidential Center. Image credit: Nelson Chenault, courtesy of Clinton Foundation

“The Clinton Presidential Center was built to set a new standard for environmental performance,” said Studio Gang Founding Partner Jeanne Gan...

OSD’s new South Cato Springs development provides nurturing space for neurodiverse adults in Arkansas

2023-06-28T18:57:00-04:00

A new neighborhood-scale development from OSD aimed at enhancing the lives of neurodiverse adults has broken ground outside of Fayetteville, Arkansas following a special ceremony held this week with the firm and its client, a local nonprofit organization called SLS Community.

Their master plan for a mixed-use and mixed-income tract called South Cato Springs will eventually endow the region with a workforce housing micro village that also features dedicated space for a new center for the University of Arkansas Medical School, recreation, and agricultural areas all surrounding a central town square on a plot located near Kessler Mountain Regional Park.

Image courtesy OSD

The firm says it will become an example of a concept it calls “mindful urbanism,” offering itself to the community as both an empowering care space and elevating pedestrianism that is built from and deeply rooted in the rich natural landscape surrounding its idyllic 230-acre site.

Image courtesy OSD

This objective will ...

Inside Studio Gang’s Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts ahead of its 2023 opening

2022-10-20T13:12:00-04:00

The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is nearing completion ahead of a predicted April 2023 opening. Designed by Studio Gang and Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects following their selection for the commission in 2016, the project has seen the unification of several existing structures on the museum grounds under a “blossoming” central addition.

Photo credit: Tim Hursley

The 133,000-square-foot building includes galleries, an art school, performing art spaces, public gathering spaces, a restaurant, and a museum store. Over 14,000 works of art will be housed in the museum, some dating back to the 14th century.

Photo credit: Tim Hursley

“Our design strengthens the museum’s role as a cultural anchor for Little Rock by uniting once-disparate structures into a cohesive whole and opening the building to the surrounding city and landscape,” said Jeanne Gang about the scheme. “By optimizing its functional spaces and expanding its galleries, classrooms, and social spaces, the building transforms the vi...

OSD and Polk Stanley Wilcox selected to design the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Arkansas

2022-07-13T13:42:00-04:00

The healing power of nature is a universal human experience and has been espoused throughout history in the Gospel of John, by the Ancient Greek philosopher Hippocrates, and in several key texts of eastern and new age religions. It is one of the guiding principles behind the architecture of Islamic hospital designs dating to the 12th century and will serve as the key to New York-based multidisciplinary studio OSD’s landscape design for the new Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Scheduled to open in the fall of 2025, pending the new school’s accreditation, the campus is to be connected to the currently under-construction Whole Health Institute building from Marlon Blackwell and the nearby Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which was also designed (in unison with Safdie Architects) around an elevating naturalistic experience.

Image by OSD and Polk Stanley Wilcox

OSD will work with Little Rock-based lead architects Polk Stanley Wilcox to realize philanthro...

Construction images of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts reveal the completion of its pleated concrete roof

2021-04-28T14:39:00-04:00

In January, Archinect previously reported on the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA) and its plans to open in May 2022. The 133,000-square-foot Museum is designed by Studio Gang in collaboration with landscape architecture firm SCAPE and Little Rock-based Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects. While initial renders of the new Museum's design didn't provide specifics to the Museum's distinct roof design, recent construction images showcase a signature roof design that flows, "blossoming out to the north and south," as described by the firm. "Spanning the length of the building, the roofline connects new construction and renovated spaces and establishes AMFA's new architectural identity."

Image © Timothy Hursley

Located within Little Rock's historic Macarthur Park, Studio Gang's design process began by studying the Museum's original building from 1937 and its eight additions. Aiming to create a renewed architectural identity that integrates the building with its surrounding landscape and the ...

Moshe Safdie to expand Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art by 50%

2021-04-07T15:42:00-04:00

The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas announced today that it is planning an expansion overseen by its original architect, Moishe Safdie, that will allow significantly more room for showcasing its collection and for education, cultural programming and community events.

Ten years after the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in Bentonville, Arkansas, Safdie Architects has been tasked to lead a major expansion project that will increase the size of the institution by roughly 50%, adding new galleries, educational facilities, and community spaces.

Construction is expected to kick off in early 2022 and conclude in 2024.

Watch Moshe Safdie explain the proposed expansion in the video below.

Studio Gang-designed Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, formerly Arkansas Arts Center, to open in 2022

2021-01-27T16:48:00-05:00

The Arkansas Arts Center has a new name: the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. Leaders gathered [...] provide an update on its facility, which is being renovated and expanded. [...] Designs for the additional $14 million in funds, Ramirez said, include new plans for 15% more gallery space than initially planned, added programming and “transforming even more of MacArthur Park into landscape space designed to host a variety or programs and events.”

A new Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts building, designed by Studio Gang with landscape architects SCAPE and Little Rock-based Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, is already under construction in Little Rock's MacArthur Park.

"The central gesture of the new Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts — a folded, thin-plate structure running through the museum complex — lends AMFA a highly visible new architectural identity and connect its diverse programing spaces," explains the project description.

"This roofline spans the length of the museum from north to south, blossoming toward downtown Little Rock at the north and Historic MacArthur Park to the south. In concert with new construction, the design once again reveals the original 1937 limestone facade of the Museum of Fine Arts, a precursor to AMFA, as the main north entrance."

"Inside, the central stem opens up a new axis of pedestrian circulation through the building from Crescent Drive at the north and opening in...

Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels reveal design for Luther George Park Masterplan and Performance Pavilion

2020-12-17T15:25:00-05:00

Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels have revealed their design for the renewal of Luther George Park located in downtown Springdale, Arkansas. Commissioned by the Downtown Springdale Alliance, the park is a part of the city's larger plan to create dynamic public spaces and plazas that can support public art, performing arts, and seasonal outdoor markets.

"The Downtown Springdale Alliance is thrilled with the work of the design team of Spackman Mossop Michaels and Trahan Architects. Luther George Park redesigned will be transformative to the beautiful, diverse culture and vibrancy of downtown Springdale," said Jill Dabbs, executive director of The Downtown Springdale Alliance, in a statement.

The 14-acre park will facilitate community engagement by providing a sustainable venue for recreation, play, and outdoor performance. The design draws its inspiration from the native landscapes of Arkansas. Two-hundred new trees will be introduced to the site, providing shade for the...

Pritzker-winning Grafton Architects selected for Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design's Center for Design and Materials Innovation

2020-03-20T15:04:00-04:00

The recent recipients of the 2020 Pritzker Prize, Grafton Architects, have been chosen by the University of Arkansas to partner with Modus Studio to design the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation.

Founders Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara are recognized for their outstanding work in building production and projects responding to urban and social issues. The new center is the duo's first built project in the U.S. In a press statement from the University, Farrell and McNamara share, "We are very excited about building our first building in the United States in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This building helps us think about the future optimistically, where the use of timber with all its possibilities, becomes real, useful, and hopefully loved."

The estimated $16 million design project will be part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design and used as a research center for the University's timber and wood design projects. According to Chris Baribeau, p...

Marlon Blackwell Architects sues over poached casino design in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

2019-12-31T14:12:00-05:00

The Arkansas-based architect is undergoing a court case regarding his work and designs for the Saracen Resort Casino in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Blackwell filed a suit against HBG Design, Saracen Development and John Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw tribe’s business committee.

A distinguished architect who recently won the AIA's highest honor for his work earlier this month claims that his designs were "stolen." According to a recent report from the Arkansas Times the lawsuit explains, "the agreement wasn’t honored and Blackwell’s copyrighted designs were “stolen” for use on the project and Blackwell wasn’t paid. The suit says further that HBG had “poisoned” the Blackwell firm’s relationship with the Quapaw tribe and Blackwell had been removed from the project."

Max Brantley, of the Arkansas Times, was able to receive a prepared statement from John Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw tribe's business committee.

"We think that Mr. Blackwell is a very talented boutique architect. But function...

Gensler to design Walmart's new 350-acre campus in Arkansas

2019-08-29T18:15:00-04:00

With abundant natural daylight, expanded food offerings, convenient parking, fitness options, and an on-site childcare facility, Walmart’s new 350-acre campus in Bentonville, Arkansas, has ample amenities to attract next-gen talent...It’s a connected and sustainable campus where associates are inspired to do their best work, a place that reflects the company’s culture, and a campus that seamlessly integrates into the fabric of the local community.

Gensler has been named the Design Architect for the office buildings that will populate the new campus. The firm will also act as the Executive Architect for the overall campus design, leading a "team of consultants to create a campus that honors Walmart's history and amplifies the company's potential to impact the local community."

Get Lectured: University of Arkansas, Spring '16

2016-02-11T13:50:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2016

Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

The next featured poster comes from the University of Arkansas, Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.

Listed below are upcoming events. Unless noted otherwise, lectures start at 5 p.m. at the Ken and Linda Sue Shollmier Hall, Vol Walker Hall.

Feb 15
Dagur Eggertsson / Principal, Rintala Eggertsson Architects - Oslo

Feb 22
Kenneth Frampton / Ware Professor of Architecture - Columbia GSAPP - New York

Feb 29
Peter Raven / President Emeritus, Research Missouri Botanical Garden - St. Louis

Mar 7
Jeffrey Kipnis / Professor, Knowlton School, The Ohio Sta...

How Frank Lloyd Wright's Bachman Wilson House was moved from New Jersey to Arkansas

2015-10-12T18:08:00-04:00

In Bentonville, Arkansas, a house that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for a New Jersey couple more than 60 years ago has been painstakingly reassembled, board by board and pane by pane, overlooking the clear waters of the Crystal Spring. When it opens to the public next month on the lushly wooded 120-acre campus of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, it will be the first Wright house in Arkansas—a delicately preserved later example of the so-called Usonian homes [...].

Previously on Archinect:

New photos of E. Fay Jones' Thorncrown Chapel unveiled to mark 35th anniversary

2015-05-19T15:29:00-04:00

Concealed within the forest landscape of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, the acclaimed Thorncrown Chapel will celebrate its 35th anniversary this summer. Designed by E. Fay Jones, who was commissioned by retired schoolteacher Jim Reed, the 48 ft. tall chapel boasts 425 windows and over 6,000 sq. ft of glass, and it became widely recognized for its organic "Ozark Gothic" style when it first opened on July 10, 1980.

To mark the Thorncrown Chapel's anniversary, architect-turned-photographer Randall Connaughton from Atlanta began an ongoing photography series of the wood-and-glass structure last year in what he described is "an effort to add new depth to the visual record of Thorncrown Chapel and bring its transcendent experience to a wide audience."

Thorncrown is the backdrop to countless wedding photos, but according to the Chapel organization, Connaughton's snapshots are the "first professionally produced photos of their kind" since 1980 -- when those photos that first contributed to ...

Get Lectured: University of Arkansas, Spring '15

2015-03-02T13:39:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter-Spring 2015

Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session! Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Designed by SILO AR+D, the next featured poster comes from the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture with their Spring '15 lecture series, "INFLUENCE."

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Listed below are upcoming events only. Unless noted, events take place at 5 pm in the Ken and Linda Sue Shollmier Hall, Vol Walker Hall. Free + open to the public.

Mar 2
Adam Greenspan / PWP Landscape Architecture

Mar 9
Suzan Tillotson / Tillotson Design Associates

Mar 16
Krista Ninivaggi / K&CO

Mar 30
Peter Gluck / Gluck+

Apr 6
Helle Sohølt / Gehl Architects

Apr 13
Tod Williams + Billie Tsi...

Get Lectured: University of Arkansas - Fay Jones School of Architecture, Fall '14

2014-09-08T13:37:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2014

Say hello to another edition of Archinect's Get Lectured! As a refresher, we'll be featuring a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. If you're not doing so already, be sure to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Starting off the week, today's poster features the "Foreign" lecture series from the University of Arkansas, Fay Jones School of Architecture.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Listed below are lectures only. Unless noted**, lectures take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Ken and Linda Sue Shollmier Hall, Room 250 of Vol Walker Hall.

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 8
Chris Downey / Chris Downey Architect

Sept. 22
Andrew Freear / Rural Studio
Cromwell Architects Engineers: Charles Thompson Memorial Lecture

OCTOBER

Oct. 4**
11 am
Merideth Boswell / Production and Interior Designer
Keynote speaker, IDEC Southwe...

Get Lectured: University of Arkansas Fall '13

2013-09-30T13:46:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2013

Here on Archinect we recently launched "Get Lectured", where we'll feature a school's lecture series--along with their snazzy posters--for the current season. Check back regularly to stay up-to-date and mark your calendars for any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Today's list is the 2013-14 "Quality" Lecture Series at the University of Arkansas, Fay Jones School of Architecture.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

All lectures will take place at 5:30 pm, unless otherwise noted.**
All lectures will be at the Ken and Linda Sue Shollmier Hall, Steven L. Anderson Design Center, Room 250, Vol Walker Hall.

SEPTEMBER

September 13
1:30 pm**
Tod Williams and Billie Tsien / Co-Founders - Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
A Building is a Verb
Cromwell Architects Engineers: Charles Thompson Memorial Lecture

September 16
Randol...

The Walrus Magazine discusses Safdie's Walmart-funded art museum

2012-11-19T12:44:00-05:00

Moshe Safdie has designed buildings around the world for almost fifty years but doesn’t have an identifiable style. His latest work, an Arkansas art museum funded by Walmart heiress Alice Walton, illustrates why it doesn’t matter