Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Bigger And Better
Crystal Bridges Museum announces expansion
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art revealed plans April 7 for a major expansion to be completed by 2024. Ten years after completing the original design for the museum, Safdie Architects returns to the project to add nearly 100,000 square feet to the facility, increasing the 200,000-squarefoot museum by 50%.
Increasing Crystal Bridges’ footprint so substantially will move the institution from the 45th to the 28th largest U.S. art museum in scale, but the expansion isn’t about competition, says Crystal Bridges Public Relations Director Beth Bobbitt. “It is in response to meeting the need,” she says. Since opening on Nov. 11, 2011, the museum has welcomed more than 5.2 million people, including 280,000 students on field trips.
“With the number of visitors we welcome annually, it’s timely to enlarge our building and make sure more people can access these offerings,” says Alice Walton, Crystal Bridges founder, in an April 7 press release. “Having Safdie Architects expand on its original Crystal Bridges design with this new addition will create a unified experience for enjoying art, nature and architecture.”
The addition will provide a 65% increase in gallery space. Two new galleries will expand the exhibition capacity of the museum’s permanent collection, which has grown from 1,500 pieces at its opening to more than 3,500 pieces now, and will include an addition to gallery space for temporary exhibitions. More educational spaces and a dedicated floor with community gathering areas and makers’ spaces will serve to further engage community visitors and creators alike.
Other design highlights include growing the collection of pavilions nestled into the landscape surrounding the museum. A new bridge connecting two galleries will offer nontraditional space for art that is not sensitive to light and will house a new cafe. A new outdoor event plaza will also increase opportunities for programming and performances.
Preserving and highlighting nature also remains a priority in expanding the structure’s design.
“Crystal Bridges and Safdie Architects are taking great care to minimize the impact on the natural landscape,” assures Scott Eccleston, Crystal Bridges director of operations.
Teams on both sides are “working closely with the Corps of Engineers to re-establish the habitat of Town Branch Creek and being careful to remove as few trees as possible,” he goes on. “We are committed to replanting 30% more trees than what we remove and are working on plans for a wildlife area with native pollinators for bees and butterflies. Some of the new buildings have more than 40% of their exterior wall buried into the cliffside, which reduces energy consumption for heating and cooling.”
The project is currently in the design development phase, with construction beginning in early 2022 and a goal of completion in 2024.
This expansion follows a reconfigured main lobby and courtyard, also designed by Safdie Architects, to be completed next month.
One day prior to the museum’s expansion announcement, the Bentonville Planning Commission unanimously approved plans for the Whole Health Institute, which Walton plans to build near Crystal Bridges.
Establishment of the Whole Health Institute was announced during the Northwest Arkansas Council’s winter meeting at Crystal Bridges in January 2020. The groundbreaking will take place this spring with an estimated completion date of summer 2023.
The institute will be on the museum’s 120-acre grounds and will include space for interactive programs and convention space for up to 800 people, according to a news release in December.
The 77,000-square-foot multi-use office and community gathering space will include offices Art Bridges. Walton founded Art Bridges, which creates and supports programs to expand access to American art across the nation, according to the museum website.