{"id":1329,"date":"2025-07-20T07:01:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T07:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/?p=1329"},"modified":"2025-07-21T10:22:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T10:22:51","slug":"folded-glass-facade-fronts-awsom-medical-schools-new-arkansas-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/20\/folded-glass-facade-fronts-awsom-medical-schools-new-arkansas-building\/","title":{"rendered":"folded glass facade fronts AWSOM medical school\u2019s new arkansas building"},"content":{"rendered":"

Architecture as a Tool for Health and Education<\/h2>\n

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Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) officially opens its new academic<\/strong><\/a> building on the campus of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas<\/strong><\/a>. Designed by Arkansas-based firm Polk Stanley Wilcox and constructed by Crossland Construction, the four-story, 154,000-square-foot facility marks the beginning of the school\u2019s inaugural MD program.<\/p>\n

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Arkansas-based studio Polk Stanley Wilcox approached the project with an architectural language that draws from the geology of the Ozarks. The building\u2019s most prominent feature, a sharply angled front entry, evokes local limestone bluff shelters, combining a sloped glass facade with a satin-finished brass soffit and a massive precast concrete wall. Beneath this canopy, two-story-deep steel trusses extend over eighty feet, creating a cantilevered volume that asserts both permanence and openness.<\/p>\n

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AWSOM\u2019s exterior is clad primarily in glass, allowing the surrounding forest to visually merge with the reflective facade. Nearly 8,000 square feet of perforated brass panels act as sunshades, reducing solar gain while preserving interior daylight. Inside, the building offers a suite of contemporary learning environments: a simulation center, anatomy lab, clinical skills center, makerspace, library, and wellness spaces including a gym, lounge, and quiet room.<\/p>\n

\"AWSOM
images \u00a9 Timothy Hursley<\/a>, courtesy Alice L. Walton School of Medicine<\/p>\n

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arkansas’ landscaped campus of meandering trails<\/h2>\n

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The landscape surrounding the newly opened building for AWSOM<\/strong><\/a> is designed by New York-based OSD: Office of Strategy + Design<\/strong><\/a>. Through its integration with the Crystal Bridges trail system, the site connects the building to the broader campus in Arkansas while prioritizing community engagement, accessibility, and ecological awareness. Trails meander past ponds, healing gardens, outdoor classrooms, and a woodland amphitheater. A 215-foot water feature follows the site\u2019s natural slope, adding ambient sound and movement.<\/p>\n

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A rooftop park, covering two acres and rising seventy feet above grade, brings the forest into dialogue with the uppermost floor. It is the largest rooftop of its kind in the region, structured as a layered ascent through native stonework and plantings that culminate in an overlook with views of the Ozark foothills. More than 550 new trees and 140,000 native plants were introduced throughout the site.<\/p>\n

\"AWSOM
AWSOM opens a new medical education facility in Bentonville, Arkansas<\/p>\n

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art and public life at awsom<\/h2>\n

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AWSOM was established in 2021 by Alice Walton as a nonprofit Arkansas institution dedicated to training physicians through a curriculum that blends science, the arts, and whole-person health. Walton has emphasized that the building\u2019s design should support the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of future doctors. That mission extends into the cultural programming of the building: the lobby, art gallery, and caf\u00e9 will open to the public on November 3rd, 2025.<\/p>\n

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To mark the occasion, Art Bridges Foundation, also founded by Walton, will inaugurate a new exhibition titled Good Medicine: The Power of Indigenous Art. Presented on the ground floor, the show explores how creativity serves Indigenous communities in maintaining cultural knowledge and wellness. A permanent installation by Ugo Rondinone, The Melancholic (2015), stands near the school\u2019s entrance, reinforcing the campus-wide relationship between art and health.<\/p>\n

\"AWSOM
the architecture is inspired by regional geology and Ozark bluff shelters<\/p>\n

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AWSOM joins a growing constellation of architecture dedicated to health and education in Bentonville. Just uphill from the medical school is the newly completed Heartland Whole Health Institute, also founded by Walton and designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects. Its stone facade references the vernacular ‘Ozark Giraffe’ masonry style and continues the campus\u2019s emphasis on regionally rooted materials.<\/p>\n

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The Crystal Bridges Museum itself is undergoing a 114,000-square-foot expansion, slated to open in 2026 (see designboom’s coverage here<\/a><\/strong>). Designed by Safdie Architects<\/a><\/strong>, the project will introduce new galleries, gathering spaces, and education facilities to the museum\u2019s existing footprint. The three projects together form an interconnected campus planned for cultural and community investment in northwest Arkansas.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"AWSOM
glass facades reflect the surrounding forest and incorporate brass sunshades<\/p>\n

\"AWSOM
two-story steel trusses allow the building to cantilever dramatically over its entry<\/p>\n

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interior programming includes advanced teaching labs, wellness zones, and study areas<\/p>\n

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landscape design by OSD integrates trails, gardens, and outdoor classrooms<\/p>\n

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\t\t\"polk-stanley-wilcox-alice-walton-school-medicine-crystal-bridges-museum-american-art-arkansas-designboom-08a\"<\/p>\n

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the public opening includes an Indigenous art exhibition curated by Art Bridges<\/p>\n

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project info:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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name:\u00a0<\/strong>Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM)<\/a> | @awsom_med<\/a><\/p>\n

architect:\u00a0<\/strong>Polk Stanley Wilcox<\/a> | @polkstanleywilcoxarchitects<\/a><\/p>\n

location:\u00a0<\/strong>Crystal Bridges Campus Museum of American Art<\/a> | @crystalbridgesmuseum<\/a><\/p>\n

address:<\/strong> 1001 NE J Street, Bentonville, Arkansas, USA<\/p>\n

completion:\u00a0<\/strong>July 2025 (classes begin), November 2025 (public opening)<\/p>\n

photography:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a9 Timothy Hursley<\/a> | @timhursley<\/a><\/p>\n

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general contractor:<\/strong> Crossland Construction, Inc.<\/a>
\nlandscape, green roof design:<\/strong> OSD: Office of Strategy + Design<\/a> | @osd_officeofstrategyanddesign<\/a>
\nMEPF, low voltage engineer:<\/strong> Henderson Engineers<\/a>
\nstructural, building envelope engineer:<\/strong> Martin \/ Martin Consulting Engineers<\/a>
\ncivil engineer:<\/strong> McClelland Engineers<\/a>
\nexterior fabrication, glass:<\/strong> MG McGrath, Inc.<\/a><\/p>\n

signage consultant:<\/strong> Two Twelve<\/a>
\nfood service consultant:<\/strong> JME Hospitality<\/a>
\ngreen roof construction:<\/strong> Ozark Green Roofs<\/a><\/p>\n

The post folded glass facade fronts AWSOM medical school’s new arkansas building<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Architecture as a Tool for Health and Education   Alice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1329"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1329"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1338,"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1329\/revisions\/1338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.macdolphins.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}