Hi, my name is Jeanne Gang. I’m an architect and founder of Studio Gang, the architecture firm who designed the reimagined Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. I’m so glad you’re interested in learning more about the building and the intention behind its design. We loved working on this project, and I hope it inspires you as a place full of amazing art, creativity, and community!
I think architecture goes deeper than creating the aesthetic look of a building: it also works to strengthen relationships. In this sense, architects are like “relationship builders” who help to set up the ways the building will encourage social interaction. My team and I are always trying to find ways that design can make it easy for people to connect with each other, with their communities, and with their environment.
We noticed right away that AMFA was a special museum when it came to connecting the community. With its combination of galleries, art school, and theatre, its programs appealed to many different people, and it was bringing them together from across Little Rock and the entire region. It was full of vibrant activities and beloved by so many. It was a real center of community life.
So, as architects focused on how museums can build community, we saw these positive qualities as the basis for our design—and we looked to unfold new possibilities from them. We started with what was already here: the physical structure, the materials, the grounds of the existing museum and the collection. We wanted to renew and reuse as much of the original building and site as possible. Not only is this a very practical approach, but it’s very sustainable, as well. Much of the building’s original structure and foundations are still here, but now they are supporting the new walls and spaces that you see around you.
In addition to being resourceful with the existing structure, we also realized the need and desire for something new and exciting: a fresh burst of architecture that would breathe new life into the museum and connect even more people with inspiring art and community. We created a new, central axis that runs through the entire building north to south, uniting all of the surrounding spaces. It organically grows out of the building’s center and extends to the daylight at the north and south edges of the museum. Like a blossom unfurling, these spaces open up to the community and into the renewed landscapes that together shape two new, distinct entrances.
Overhead, the folded petals of the central axis are actually the roof’s structural system; they help to increase the span between columns. You can see the roof-folds from both inside and outside, as well as the roof’s curving perimeter lines, which are continued on out into the paths and spaces in the landscape.
When you approach the building from the north, you’re greeted by the new community space called the Cultural Living Room. With its transparent walls and bold, uplifted form, this space will welcome everyone to AMFA. It piques your interest in a way, your excitement about exploring the art inside. Passing below the Cultural Living Room you enter a serene courtyard designed together with SCAPE Landscape Architects that beautifully frames the original 1937 facade, restored and renewed as a part of this project.
Once you’re indoors, in the building, you can see how the curving lines in the ceiling and the floor lead you into the different spaces. From here you can choose your own adventure, whether it’s to visit the new galleries and Museum Store, attend a class at the Windgate Art School, go to Artist Talks and performances in the Rockefeller Lecture Hall and Performing Arts Theater, or connect up with friends in the Cultural Living Room. Wherever you decide to go, you can always feel connected with the outdoors. Clerestory windows bring in natural light from above and wash over the gentle curves of the walls.
At the southern end, the glass walls of the new restaurant give you a panoramic view of the new gardens and landscape outside designed by SCAPE. The building and the landscape work closely together to create an immersive experience. You can sit outdoors beneath the sheltering roof, or you can continue into the gardens and park beyond. The life of the museum can continue to grow along with the new habitat for flora and fauna in the revitalized landscape: bringing people, art, and nature into a wonderous and interconnected relationship. Enjoy your visit!
