Project Statement

The CBMAA Campus Parking structure is a six-story, 800-space parking deck that redefines the typology as a multipurpose gateway to the broader Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art campus in Bentonville, Arkansas. Situated along Museum Way near the museum’s main entrance, the building serves as a threshold to a campus that blends art, wellness, and nature across indoor and outdoor environments.

What more can a parking garage offer?

More than a utilitarian structure, the parking deck integrates café and retail spaces at ground level and an elevated art and event venue—the Sky Terrace—on the second floor. Approached from the south, the building’s sculptural geometry is expressed through vertical fins clad in aqua azure metal panels, a nostalgic nod to the 1965 Pontiac Tempest paint finish. These fins, mirrored on the north side, frame the guest entry and contribute to the building’s distinct identity. At night, color-changing LED lights animate the structure with firefly-like patterns, adding an ethereal quality to the experience.
Constructed of post-tensioned concrete, the garage is organized in three long bays with a single ramp system and multiple vertical circulation points for direct access to the museum and the nearby Scott Family Amazeum. The Sky Terrace offers views into the surrounding forest and onto Convergence Plaza below, linking visitors with nature and public gathering spaces. Altogether, CBMAA Campus Parking is both a functional solution and a civic gesture—an architectural front porch that reflects the museum’s mission to enrich the community through art, environment, and experience.