Located in Little Rock, the Arkansas Arts Center is currently undergoing a $142 million transformation to become the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. The new museum will include an increase in space of almost 50% and the addition of 13 acres of new grounds.
The signature feature of Studio Gang’s design is a new structure, dubbed the Blossom, that winds through the length of the museum. Defined outwardly by its pleated roof, the Blossom will become the core of the visitor experience, laying out a clear path for visitors, uniting the museum’s programmed spaces, and providing major new public features at either end: an expansive glass-enclosed gathering space overlooking the Downtown side, and a restaurant that spreads out into MacArthur Park. The pleated roof also allows for the collection of storm water, which will feed the park’s new gardens and native perennial meadows.
The project joins the landscape experience with the museum and provides 2,200 linear feet of new paths and trails throughout 13 acres of MAcArthur Park. Inspiration for the landscape (designed by SCAPE Landscape Architecture) draws from Little Rock’s unique regional ecologies, including the banks of Fourche Creek, the bluffs of Emerald Park, and the agrarian landscapes of the Mississippi Delta.
SCAPE’s design preserves many of the parks existing mature trees and relies on sustainable, native plantings and incorporates more than 50 species of perennials, shrubs, native trees, and ornamental grasses. An additional 250 new trees will be planted, which will create a canopy throughout the park over time.
The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is slated for completion in spring 2022.
Related Stories
| Jun 1, 2012
New BD+C University Course on Insulated Metal Panels available
By completing this course, you earn 1.0 HSW/SD AIA Learning Units.
| May 29, 2012
Reconstruction Awards Entry Information
Download a PDF of the Entry Information at the bottom of this page.
| May 24, 2012
2012 Reconstruction Awards Entry Form
Download a PDF of the Entry Form at the bottom of this page.
| Apr 6, 2012
Batson-Cook breaks ground on hotel adjacent to Infantry Museum & Fort Benning
The four-story, 65,000-ft property will feature 102 hotel rooms, including 14 studio suites.
| Mar 29, 2012
Construction completed on Las Vegas’ newest performing arts center
The Smith Center will be the first major multi-purpose performance center in the U.S. to earn Silver LEED certification.
| Mar 5, 2012
Franklin Institute in Philadelphia selects Skanska to construct new pavilion
The building has been designed by SaylorGregg Architects and will apply for LEED Silver certification.
| Dec 5, 2011
Summit Design+Build begins renovation of Chicago’s Esquire Theatre
The 33,000 square foot building will undergo an extensive structural remodel and core & shell build-out changing the building’s use from a movie theater to a high-end retail center.
| Nov 9, 2011
Lincoln Center Pavilion wins national architecture and engineering award
The project team members include owner Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York; design architect and interior designer of the restaurant, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York; executive architect, FXFOWLE, New York; and architect and interior designer of the film center, Rockwell Group, New York; structural engineer Arup (AISC Member), New York; and general contractor Turner Construction Company (AISC Member), New York.
| Oct 12, 2011
BIM Clarification and Codification in a Louisiana Sports Museum
The Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame celebrates the sporting past, but it took innovative 3D planning and coordination of the future to deliver its contemporary design.
| Oct 12, 2011
Consigli Construction breaks ground for Bigelow Laboratory Center for Ocean Health
Consigli to build third phase of 64-acre Ocean Science and Education Campus, design by WBRC Architects , engineers in association with Perkins + Will
