Close aerial of Crystal Bridges looking north. Courtesy of Safdie Architects.
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is marking its tenth birthday with a major growth spurt. The museum in Bentonville, Arkansas a small city best known as the home of Walmart’s headquarters has announced it will build an architectural expansion to increase its footprint by 50 percent.
The project will be overseen by Safdie Architects, which also designed the museum’s original facility. It will add nearly 100,000 square feet to the museum’s 200,000-square-foot campus, increase gallery space by 65 percent, add educational spaces, a dedicated floor for community gathering, a circular event plaza, and a new windowed bridge to showcase art that is not light sensitive.