The Momentary — The Momentary
The Momentary, a satellite contemporary-art and performing-arts space of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, opened February 22, 2020, converting a decommissioned 63,000-square-foot Kraft Foods cheese-processing plant into galleries and performance venues; designed by Wheeler Kearns Architects with theatre planning by Schuler Shook.
| Venue | The Momentary |
|---|---|
| Project type | New Building |
| Status | Completed |
| Year completed | 2020 |
Credits
| Firm | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|
| wheeler-kearns-architects | Architecture | design architect, adaptive reuse of a decommissioned Kraft Foods cheese-processing plant |
| howell-and-vancuren-landscape-architects | Landscape Architecture | |
| lux-populi | Lighting Design | architectural lighting consultant |
| Schuler Shook | Lighting Design | theatre planning and audience/production design (foot traffic, sightlines, accessibility, stage power) for the RØDE House, Fermentation Hall, the Tower, and the outdoor music venue; credited separately from Lux Populi's architectural lighting design on this project |
| Threshold Acoustics | AV Integration | acoustic and AV design, including the Fermentation Hall's variable acoustic system developed with Schuler Shook; acoustics itself is outside this index's role vocabulary, AV design is credited here |
| foda | Environmental Graphics & Wayfinding | interiors, branding, and signage |
Description
The adaptive-reuse project transformed the former cheese plant into 24,000 square feet of gallery space plus four performance venues: The RØDE House (a 350-seat flexible space for music, dance, and theatre in the former Milk Intake Room), the Fermentation Hall (variable-acoustic performance space), the Tower, and an outdoor music venue accommodating over 4,000 people. Wheeler Kearns Architects led design, with Thornton Tomasetti (structural), McClelland Engineers (civil), McGuire Engineers (MEP/FP/IT), Howell & Vancuren (landscape architecture), Lux Populi (lighting), Schuler Shook (theatre planning), Threshold Acoustics (acoustic and AV design), Edge Associates (kitchen design), and FODA (interiors/branding/signage); Flintco was general contractor. Exterior glass panels feature a frit pattern by Osage artist Addie Roanhorse inspired by Osage ceremonial weaving. The project won a 2021 AIA Chicago Distinguished Building Honor Award and a 2020 Architect's Newspaper Best of Design Editors' Pick for Adaptive Reuse.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Momentary
- https://schulershook.com/projects/the-momentary
- https://wkarch.com/catalog/the-momentary/
- https://crystalbridges.org/news-room/a-new-contemporary-art-space-the-momentary-opens-in-the-heartland-with-the-debut-of-state-of-the-art-2020/
- https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14706-the-momentary-by-wheeler-kearns-architects