AWSOM's new academic building at Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas showcases a unique architectural design inspired by the Ozarks. Featuring a glass facade and a prominent entry, the facility houses contemporary learning environments like a simulation center and wellness spaces. Designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox, its structure blends with the surrounding environment, while the landscape by New York's OSD emphasizes community engagement and ecological awareness. This four-story, 154,000-square-foot facility marks the school's first MD program and integrates natural features like ponds and healing gardens.
The building's 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.
AWSOM's 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.
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.
The landscape surrounding the newly opened building for AWSOM is designed by New York-based OSD: Office of Strategy + Design, prioritizing community engagement, accessibility, and ecological awareness.
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