Architecture
The architecture of Crystal Bridges is as stunning and inspirational as the artwork housed inside it. In a ravine surrounded by native Ozark forest, the Museum’s muscular gray concrete walls rise up from the bedrock, banded in rough cedar and curved to echo the shape of the hillside. The roofs of the Museum’s bridges, covered in deep brown copper, rise like mounds of earth across the still ponds. Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the structures are meant to provide views of the surrounding landscape and play up the interaction between architecture, art, and nature.
Bringing people, art, and nature together is at the core of Crystal Bridge’s mission, and nature-centric architecture is a key factor in that equation. For that reason, Crystal Bridges celebrates the visionary work of architects such as Safdie and Frank Lloyd Wright, whose buildings work in harmony with the natural environment.
We encourage guests to explore the architecture of Crystal Bridges, as well as that of Wright’s classic Usonian house on the Museum grounds. Guided tours focusing on the architecture of each of these structures are also available.
Moshe Safdie
Crystal Bridges was designed by internationally renowned architect Moshe Safdie, who envisioned a building that would complement the surrounding Ozark landscape. Nestled into a natural ravine, the museum integrates the element of water on the site through the creation of two spring-fed ponds that are spanned by two signature bridge structures and surrounded by a group of pavilions housing museum galleries and studios.
Frank Lloyd Wright
In 2013, Crystal Bridges acquired a classic “Usonian” house designed by celebrated American architect Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed in 1954. Known as the Bachman-Wilson House, the structure was dismantled at its original site in Somerset County, New Jersey, and reconstructed on the museum grounds overlooking Crystal Spring.
Marlon Blackwell
Architect Marlon Blackwell designed the museum store at Crystal Bridges to be an organic complement to the museum’s natural setting and distinctive architecture. Under a living green roof, the interior ceiling and walls are lined with undulating Cherrywood ribs that mimic the fluting on the underside of a mushroom. Blackwell practices architecture in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and serves as distinguished professor at in the Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design at the University of Arkansas.
Fly's Eye Dome
The 50-foot diameter Fly’s Eye Dome, designed by American architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller, has been installed on the Museum’s north lawn. This is one of only three prototypes fabricated in Fuller’s lifetime, and has spent nearly three decades in storage.
The Fly’s Eye Dome is sponsored by Ken and Liz Allen, Chip and Susan Chambers, The Harrison and Rhonda French Family, and Tartaglino Richards Family Foundation in memory of Maurice Jennings.
Architecture in NWA
Discover more about mid-century Modern architecture in Northwest Arkansas! The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has created a guide highlighting structures designed by significant mid-century architects in our region. Click here to plan your trip to visit nearby structures by Fay Jones, Edward Durell Stone, Warren Segraves, and more.
