cream and tan exterior of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art

February 7, 2024

Inside the Refreshed Arkansas Museum of Fine Art

2023 Best of Year Winner for Domestic Museum

Overhauling a confusing warren of seven buildings added in a disorganized fashion to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art in Little Rock since its opening in 1937 involved multiple interventions, from an addition to sensitive renovations, totaling 133,000 square feet. For Studio Gang, the key to unlocking the puzzle was a new circulation spine that weaves north to south through the site. It’s topped with a standout pleated concrete roof plane, its underside composed of 6,000 individually suspended plywood-slat “vertebrae.” One side of the spine terminates in a glass-wrapped lounge elevated on stilts, with a plaza beneath. The roof graduates down as it reaches the opposite side, ending at Park Grill, the museum’s restaurant.

See Interior Design’s Best of Year Winners and Honorees

Explore must-see projects and innovative products that took home high honors.

2024 WINNERS

a curved wall of windows at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art

an airy interior of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art

a gallery with wood floors in the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art

Projects
Grab A Drink At This Communal Coffee Shop In Oakland
Jones Haydu utilize a crown of concave timber slats and linear pendant fixtures to highlight the communal nature of The Caffè by Mr. Espresso.
Projects
Picnic in This Meadow Atop Chicago’s Old Post Office
Stroll through the sprawling 3 ½-acre rooftop garden designed by Hoerr Schaudt that tops Chicago’s Old Post Office, creating a truly unique alfresco amenity.
Projects
Peek Inside A Polished Brooklyn Townhome With Historic Charm
Brent Buck Architects revamped this 3,500-square-foot Brooklyn townhouse, featuring spacious interiors linked by a sculptural polished-plaster staircase.