February 7, 2025 • 15 mins
Did you know that the Walton Design Excellence Program promotes the highest level of design and belonging in Northwest Arkansas? This week you'll find out all of the projects, how to throw your hat in the ring, on and some favorite Bentonville architectural moments including these Design Excellence Projects:
Thaden School
Helen Walton Children's Enrichment Center
Quilt of Parks
Crystal Bridges Museum x Amazeum Convergence
8th Street Gateway Park
Learn more about the Walton Design Excellence Program here: www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/grants/northwest-arkansas-design-excellence
A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beth Bobbitt (00:10):
Welcome to A New American Town presented by Visit
Bentonville.
I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt,and today we're excited to
highlight the fabulous designand architecture scene here in
Bentonville with one of theexperts, Meredith Bergstrom.
Meredith is the Senior ProgramOfficer for Home Region at
Walton Family Foundation andyou're very much uniquely
(00:31):
qualified for this.
You have a background in urbanplanning and design in Miami.
Welcome to the podcast.
First of all, thanks so muchfor being here.
Yes, thank you for having me.
I'm excited.
Yeah, and we want to kind ofset the table here.
Walton Family Foundation hassome core, just pillars home
region, education, environment.
You serve the home region, isthat correct?
(00:53):
Yes, that's right.
So talk a little bit about thatwork and your role and kind of
what led you here.
Meredith Bergstrom (00:59):
Yeah, so, like you said, I'm a program
officer at the Walton FamilyFoundation.
I've been here almost six yearsand I get to work on two
portfolios of grant making, andit's really around what
something we call regionalaffordability, which is the
intersection of housing andtransportation, and then
something we call inclusiveshared spaces and experiences,
which is really about parks andpublic spaces, and it is a real
(01:23):
privilege parks and publicspaces and it is a real
privilege.
I have been in the area on andoff since, let me think, 2010.
And so I've seen the regiongrow so much and it's been so
wonderful to be a part of somany different organizations
through this work and supportingvarious initiatives throughout
Northwest Arkansas.
Beth Bobbitt (01:43):
So let's talk about the goals for the Design
Excellence Program.
It's funding these projectsthat inspire community
connections.
Can you talk a little bit moreabout?
Meredith Bergstrom (01:53):
the vision.
Yes, so it's a great time to betalking about this, because
we're actually in year 10 of theDesign Excellence Program.
It was originally founded toelevate the quality of design
throughout Northwest Arkansaspublic buildings and public
spaces, and so it has alwaysreally been about
people-centered design, keepingthe end in mind, and really its
(02:15):
goal is to strengthen publiclife, to ensure that people have
places to go outside work,outside the places that they
live, that they can meet withfriends or meet new friends and
spend time, build a sense ofbelonging and ownership in their
community.
So we know that that is anincreasingly important thing
within every community, and theprogram has now supported 20
(02:37):
projects throughout NorthwestArkansas in various stages of
design, development,construction or completion and
programming.
These are places that everyonewill likely know if they've been
here Places like Thaden Schoolin Bentonville, but also Theater
Squared, really beautifulpublic parks in our downtown
areas, Memorial Park in SiloamSprings, but also Railyard Park
(02:59):
in Rogers and some reallyexciting park developments in
Bentonville, which we'll talkabout.
Beth Bobbitt (03:05):
Hey there, stick around.
We've got special highlightsfrom Meredith about her favorite
architecture spots inBentonville and the vision for
our future at the end of theepisode you won't want to miss
how Walton Family Foundation isgoing to continue to build
Bentonville with people-centricdesign.
So what everybody wants to hearabout the projects themselves.
(03:26):
And people may see thesebuildings or experience these
buildings and not know that it'sa design excellent project
Thaden Quilt of Parks.
What are some of your favoritesthat you'd like to highlight
that are in Bentonville?
Meredith Bergstrom (03:41):
Yes, well, I think actually Helen Walton
Children's Enrichment Center isone of the first projects that
was supported and just evengetting to tour that.
It's such a special place.
It's amazing to see the waythat that program can apply to
so many different contexts.
Of course, Thaden School isalso so beautiful and it's
(04:02):
amazing to see the applicationof design principles in an
educational space.
But some of the projects thatare coming up are really my
favorite, which I know we'lldive into a little bit more.
Yeah, let's jump in.
Well, great.
So I think anybody who's been inBentonville at all recently
will know that there is a lot ofconstruction going on, and so
right now part of something thatwas called Quilt of Parks,
(04:23):
which was really this idea ofconnecting public spaces
throughout Bentonville, reallyfocusing on downtown as a public
park space, there is right nowthe A Street Promenade is under
construction.
A portion of that is completeright in front of the courtyard.
That design is reallyhearkening to the Buffalo River
(04:44):
and so much of what's beautifulabout natural areas throughout
Northwest Arkansas and ourbroader region.
So you see sort ofrecollections of that in the
design, the way it meandersthrough the space much like a
creek, spaces to pause andreflect, but also lots of plazas
and spaces for activation.
So I think it's really excitingto see that coming on board and
(05:05):
that will be anchored by a newplayground, with a reimagined
Dave Peel playground, and so Ithink once that's all complete,
it's just going to be a reallywonderful place for families and
any individuals to come at anytime of day and enjoy downtown.
Beth Bobbitt (05:20):
Yeah, wow, I don't think I realized the connection
with the Buffalo River, that'sfascinating.
Meredith Bergstrom (05:25):
It's been fun to get to talk with some of
the designers and follow thatprocess.
Yeah, and if you can, can youtalk about the designers or
artists or firms that areinvolved in that?
Yeah, absolutely so.
Design Workshop, who has beenworking on the A Street
Promenade and the Quilt of Parks.
So they've been engaged withthe city of Bentonville
throughout that process and youknow they really started with
(05:48):
this idea of, like, what do wewant this space to be?
And I think that's a themethat's really important to pull
out through the DesignExcellence Program.
When we get involved insupporting a project, it's
really about helping peopleconnect to what are the end
goals.
When somebody comes to thisspace, what is it that you hope
that they'll experience?
Project is ultimately aboutpeople.
(06:11):
You can end up, I think, withdesign that really speaks to
that and centers that experiencethroughout the process.
That's so exciting.
And what's the timeline on that?
You know that is a greatquestion and the city website is
probably the best place to getupdates, but I know that the A
Street Promenade will completethis year.
Beth Bobbitt (06:30):
Right, so exciting .
Well, stay tuned for that.
So when we talk about the youknow level of participation,
just a few highlights 70architecture and landscape firms
have been involved, so from NewYork to Denver and of course we
have some local superstarsMarlon Blackwell architects Talk
(06:51):
a little bit about theimportance of just diversity of
thought and design in that mix.
Meredith Bergstrom (06:58):
Yes, so when the program was originally
founded, there was really, Ithink, a great precedent in a
couple other design excellenceprograms, one based in Columbus,
Ohio, and so from the beginningwe've had this amazing
selection committee.
Who it's?
it's the chairman is dean petermckeith from the university of
(07:18):
arkansas and then, uh, really,professionals that have terms,
but they're, you know, reallywell known in their fields
architecture, landscapearchitecture, urban design from
throughout the country.
And so when firms apply toparticipate in the program, they
go through a very rigorousselection process, and our
selection committee is lookingat, like you mentioned, a lot of
(07:38):
diversity in terms of thought,experience, discipline, also the
size of the firm, the types ofexperience they bring, because
when they become a part of theprogram, we are then pairing
people once we find a project,and pairing people once we find
a project.
So if we're interested insupporting a project through the
Design Excellence Program, wetake it then to the Design
Excellence Selection Committee.
(07:59):
They'll choose a short list offirms five or six and present
that list to the grantee, whothen can ultimately choose who
they want to work with.
And so it's really importantthat we have a robust list of
firms in the pool who can bematched with any potential
project that might come up.
Right, smart and after 10 yearsyou know that list is long yeah,
(08:20):
and I should say we actuallyare just about to announce a new
list of firms that are joiningas of 2025, and we'll start a
new five-year term, because thefirms in the pool are there for
five years or until they'reselected for a project, okay,
okay, well, that is helpful.
Beth Bobbitt (08:35):
Talk a little bit about you know how you apply,
kind of the application processor the resources available.
Meredith Bergstrom (08:42):
Yeah, well, there's kind of two application
processes.
So for firms that areinterested in participating in
the pool, we announce when we'reopening a request for
qualifications.
We typically do that every year, or once there's a list of
firms that are rolling off andwe want to replenish the pool.
Or last year we actually did aspecial round where we were
(09:03):
formally adding master planningand urban planning as a
discipline within the program.
So we did a special call forfirms.
And then, of course, there'sprojects that want to be
supported by the DesignExcellence Program.
And that's something that's solovely about being a program
officer here, doing place-basedwork within our philanthropy,
because as program officers welive and work here, so we are
(09:27):
connected to the community andhopefully able to hear any ideas
that people might have or workwith potential grantees on.
Yes, that is a great fit forthe program and we'd love to
move forward with ourapplication process Right, makes
sense Well, and so youmentioned.
Beth Bobbitt (09:42):
There's no current projects or open calls.
But you know, give us a littlewhile there might be soon.
Meredith Bergstrom (09:48):
Exactly.
Beth Bobbitt (09:49):
Yeah, Okay, Well, we'll stay tuned for that.
Yeah, and just, you know, acouple of reflection wrap up
questions here.
I'd love for you to talk alittle bit about how meaningful
design, particularly in a placelike Bittenville that's, you
know, really focused oncultivating the arts, culinary
and creating this like sense ofbelonging how important is that
(10:11):
design to foster all of that?
Meredith Bergstrom (10:14):
Yes, I think it's critical, one of the
things that really drew me tocity planning when I first
started getting involved inthinking about that as a career.
Every place that I've lived orvisited is the way it is because
(10:38):
somebody made a decision right,or a series of somebody's made
a lot of decisions.
They put it in city ordinances,right, somebody has to put a
sidewalk here or somebody needsto build this way, and so our
experience of place isincredible, is every day
influenced by design decisions.
And I think you know,particularly in a place like
Northwest Arkansas, which isgrowing so rapidly, we know that
(11:01):
we're likely to double inpopulation by 2050.
You know that's essentiallybuilding a whole, nother
Northwest Arkansas and we.
So it's amazing that we'regrowing and we can choose how we
grow, and so those designdecisions are what are going to
determine future access to foreveryone, right to our parks and
public spaces, to housing thatthey can afford.
I really do think that designinfluences all of those
(11:24):
decisions.
So we're excited to be able tocontinue to engage in really
people focused design,supporting design initiatives
that start with really robustcommunity engagement and then
continue that as a through line.
I think that's really key.
Beth Bobbitt (11:38):
Yeah, I think we're really lucky to be in a
place that is so intentionalabout that and really focused on
providing those resources andmaking those connections and
connecting projects and firmsand places.
So thank you for all of that.
So fun question.
Let's talk a little bit aboutyou personally, your favorite
(12:00):
architecture design moment inBentonville and it could be a
view, it could be a place.
What do you think?
Meredith Bergstrom (12:05):
Yes.
So I mean, as soon as I thinkabout it it's funny because it's
almost involuntary just likecomes into my mind.
It's that moment when I get toCrystal Bridges you know you've
arrived either in a car oryou're walking or biking and
you're entering the museum andespecially if you're coming from
the top, you've seen the silvertree and then you kind of look
(12:27):
out and you see this view of agreen rooftop and trees and more
art and natural space.
It's just so inviting it makesyou feel like curious about
what's next you want to.
So inviting, it makes you feellike curious about what's next
you want to go in Like.
To me that has always been justa really special architectural
moment.
Beth Bobbitt (12:43):
Yeah, and I mean, as we've talked about, totally
intentional.
You know, moshe Safdie, ofcourse the architect behind that
wanted this subtlety as you'reentering and then, like you said
, when you're upon it, you canreally see the breadth and the
depth and you have that view ofthe entire campus.
Meredith Bergstrom (12:59):
So, yeah, and it's so grounded, like in
its place in Northwest Arkansas,so you see the building and you
also see the natural world.
I think it's such a greatrepresentation of the
interchange between those twoenvironments.
Yeah.
Beth Bobbitt (13:12):
Become.
Very iconic, for sure, yes.
Very iconic for sure, yes.
So if you had a crystal balland you're looking into it, what
do you think you would see forBentonville, related to urban
planning or design?
What's in store?
Meredith Bergstrom (13:27):
Yes, well, I will give my vision, and I
think it's that in.
I mean, I would love to imaginethat in 10 years we are a place
that is just hyper-connectedfor multimodalism, that people
can choose to bike or walk, ortake transit even, or drive to
where they need to get, to go,and it's that connectivity that
(13:52):
provides the landscape for allof these other important sort of
design decisions.
When it comes to buildings, Ithink that's been a real
learning of ours from theprogram so far is that you know,
it's one thing to build thisbeautiful place or a responsive
place to local needs, it'sanother to make sure that people
can really easily get there.
So I think these designdecisions that we're making have
(14:15):
to be sort of in tandem fromand connected to how people get
to the places that they're goingas well, as you know, really
great destinations.
Beth Bobbitt (14:25):
Right.
Yes, some logistics andtransportation in there too as
well, yeah, tell us how to learnmore.
Are there any resourcesnewsletter, newsletter, website,
social you want to?
Meredith Bergstrom (14:36):
yes, absolutely so.
Please, uh, watch the waltonfamily foundation website
waltonfamilyfoundationorg.
There's lots of updates aboutthe design excellence program,
but also all of our other work.
Um, and then really, you know,we we support initiatives that
are being accomplished by thecity of bentonville and other
non-profit organizations, so,especially when it comes to some
of the projects that areunderway right now, the City of
(14:58):
Bentonville has a great websiteshowcasing 8th Street Promenade,
which we talked about, and someof the other designs for that,
but also projects like 8thStreet Gateway Park, which is
going to be amazing, and so lotsto come.
Beth Bobbitt (15:12):
Yeah, good teaser.
We'll have to stay tuned formore.
Thanks, Meredith, for spendingsome time with us.
It was lovely chatting and lookforward to hearing more about
the Design Excellent program.
Yeah, thanks so much for havingme.
As always, Visit Bentonville ishere to help you navigate
things to do, where to eat andstay and what's going on in our
new American town.
Give us a follow on socialmedia, sign up for the
(15:35):
newsletter and check out ourwebsite at visitbentonvillecom.
Thanks for.
Welcome to A New American Town presented by Visit
Bentonville.
I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt,and today we're excited to
highlight the fabulous designand architecture scene here in
Bentonville with one of theexperts, Meredith Bergstrom.
Meredith is the Senior ProgramOfficer for Home Region at
Walton Family Foundation andyou're very much uniquely
(00:31):
qualified for this.
You have a background in urbanplanning and design in Miami.
Welcome to the podcast.
First of all, thanks so muchfor being here.
Yes, thank you for having me.
I'm excited.
Yeah, and we want to kind ofset the table here.
Walton Family Foundation hassome core, just pillars home
region, education, environment.
You serve the home region, isthat correct?
(00:53):
Yes, that's right.
So talk a little bit about thatwork and your role and kind of
what led you here.
Meredith Bergstrom (00:59):
Yeah, so, like you said, I'm a program
officer at the Walton FamilyFoundation.
I've been here almost six yearsand I get to work on two
portfolios of grant making, andit's really around what
something we call regionalaffordability, which is the
intersection of housing andtransportation, and then
something we call inclusiveshared spaces and experiences,
which is really about parks andpublic spaces, and it is a real
(01:23):
privilege parks and publicspaces and it is a real
privilege.
I have been in the area on andoff since, let me think, 2010.
And so I've seen the regiongrow so much and it's been so
wonderful to be a part of somany different organizations
through this work and supportingvarious initiatives throughout
Northwest Arkansas.
Beth Bobbitt (01:43):
So let's talk about the goals for the Design
Excellence Program.
It's funding these projectsthat inspire community
connections.
Can you talk a little bit moreabout?
Meredith Bergstrom (01:53):
the vision.
Yes, so it's a great time to betalking about this, because
we're actually in year 10 of theDesign Excellence Program.
It was originally founded toelevate the quality of design
throughout Northwest Arkansaspublic buildings and public
spaces, and so it has alwaysreally been about
people-centered design, keepingthe end in mind, and really its
(02:15):
goal is to strengthen publiclife, to ensure that people have
places to go outside work,outside the places that they
live, that they can meet withfriends or meet new friends and
spend time, build a sense ofbelonging and ownership in their
community.
So we know that that is anincreasingly important thing
within every community, and theprogram has now supported 20
(02:37):
projects throughout NorthwestArkansas in various stages of
design, development,construction or completion and
programming.
These are places that everyonewill likely know if they've been
here Places like Thaden Schoolin Bentonville, but also Theater
Squared, really beautifulpublic parks in our downtown
areas, Memorial Park in SiloamSprings, but also Railyard Park
(02:59):
in Rogers and some reallyexciting park developments in
Bentonville, which we'll talkabout.
Beth Bobbitt (03:05):
Hey there, stick around.
We've got special highlightsfrom Meredith about her favorite
architecture spots inBentonville and the vision for
our future at the end of theepisode you won't want to miss
how Walton Family Foundation isgoing to continue to build
Bentonville with people-centricdesign.
So what everybody wants to hearabout the projects themselves.
(03:26):
And people may see thesebuildings or experience these
buildings and not know that it'sa design excellent project
Thaden Quilt of Parks.
What are some of your favoritesthat you'd like to highlight
that are in Bentonville?
Meredith Bergstrom (03:41):
Yes, well, I think actually Helen Walton
Children's Enrichment Center isone of the first projects that
was supported and just evengetting to tour that.
It's such a special place.
It's amazing to see the waythat that program can apply to
so many different contexts.
Of course, Thaden School isalso so beautiful and it's
(04:02):
amazing to see the applicationof design principles in an
educational space.
But some of the projects thatare coming up are really my
favorite, which I know we'lldive into a little bit more.
Yeah, let's jump in.
Well, great.
So I think anybody who's been inBentonville at all recently
will know that there is a lot ofconstruction going on, and so
right now part of something thatwas called Quilt of Parks,
(04:23):
which was really this idea ofconnecting public spaces
throughout Bentonville, reallyfocusing on downtown as a public
park space, there is right nowthe A Street Promenade is under
construction.
A portion of that is completeright in front of the courtyard.
That design is reallyhearkening to the Buffalo River
(04:44):
and so much of what's beautifulabout natural areas throughout
Northwest Arkansas and ourbroader region.
So you see sort ofrecollections of that in the
design, the way it meandersthrough the space much like a
creek, spaces to pause andreflect, but also lots of plazas
and spaces for activation.
So I think it's really excitingto see that coming on board and
(05:05):
that will be anchored by a newplayground, with a reimagined
Dave Peel playground, and so Ithink once that's all complete,
it's just going to be a reallywonderful place for families and
any individuals to come at anytime of day and enjoy downtown.
Beth Bobbitt (05:20):
Yeah, wow, I don't think I realized the connection
with the Buffalo River, that'sfascinating.
Meredith Bergstrom (05:25):
It's been fun to get to talk with some of
the designers and follow thatprocess.
Yeah, and if you can, can youtalk about the designers or
artists or firms that areinvolved in that?
Yeah, absolutely so.
Design Workshop, who has beenworking on the A Street
Promenade and the Quilt of Parks.
So they've been engaged withthe city of Bentonville
throughout that process and youknow they really started with
(05:48):
this idea of, like, what do wewant this space to be?
And I think that's a themethat's really important to pull
out through the DesignExcellence Program.
When we get involved insupporting a project, it's
really about helping peopleconnect to what are the end
goals.
When somebody comes to thisspace, what is it that you hope
that they'll experience?
Project is ultimately aboutpeople.
(06:11):
You can end up, I think, withdesign that really speaks to
that and centers that experiencethroughout the process.
That's so exciting.
And what's the timeline on that?
You know that is a greatquestion and the city website is
probably the best place to getupdates, but I know that the A
Street Promenade will completethis year.
Beth Bobbitt (06:30):
Right, so exciting .
Well, stay tuned for that.
So when we talk about the youknow level of participation,
just a few highlights 70architecture and landscape firms
have been involved, so from NewYork to Denver and of course we
have some local superstarsMarlon Blackwell architects Talk
(06:51):
a little bit about theimportance of just diversity of
thought and design in that mix.
Meredith Bergstrom (06:58):
Yes, so when the program was originally
founded, there was really, Ithink, a great precedent in a
couple other design excellenceprograms, one based in Columbus,
Ohio, and so from the beginningwe've had this amazing
selection committee.
Who it's?
it's the chairman is dean petermckeith from the university of
(07:18):
arkansas and then, uh, really,professionals that have terms,
but they're, you know, reallywell known in their fields
architecture, landscapearchitecture, urban design from
throughout the country.
And so when firms apply toparticipate in the program, they
go through a very rigorousselection process, and our
selection committee is lookingat, like you mentioned, a lot of
(07:38):
diversity in terms of thought,experience, discipline, also the
size of the firm, the types ofexperience they bring, because
when they become a part of theprogram, we are then pairing
people once we find a project,and pairing people once we find
a project.
So if we're interested insupporting a project through the
Design Excellence Program, wetake it then to the Design
Excellence Selection Committee.
(07:59):
They'll choose a short list offirms five or six and present
that list to the grantee, whothen can ultimately choose who
they want to work with.
And so it's really importantthat we have a robust list of
firms in the pool who can bematched with any potential
project that might come up.
Right, smart and after 10 yearsyou know that list is long yeah,
(08:20):
and I should say we actuallyare just about to announce a new
list of firms that are joiningas of 2025, and we'll start a
new five-year term, because thefirms in the pool are there for
five years or until they'reselected for a project, okay,
okay, well, that is helpful.
Beth Bobbitt (08:35):
Talk a little bit about you know how you apply,
kind of the application processor the resources available.
Meredith Bergstrom (08:42):
Yeah, well, there's kind of two application
processes.
So for firms that areinterested in participating in
the pool, we announce when we'reopening a request for
qualifications.
We typically do that every year, or once there's a list of
firms that are rolling off andwe want to replenish the pool.
Or last year we actually did aspecial round where we were
(09:03):
formally adding master planningand urban planning as a
discipline within the program.
So we did a special call forfirms.
And then, of course, there'sprojects that want to be
supported by the DesignExcellence Program.
And that's something that's solovely about being a program
officer here, doing place-basedwork within our philanthropy,
because as program officers welive and work here, so we are
(09:27):
connected to the community andhopefully able to hear any ideas
that people might have or workwith potential grantees on.
Yes, that is a great fit forthe program and we'd love to
move forward with ourapplication process Right, makes
sense Well, and so youmentioned.
Beth Bobbitt (09:42):
There's no current projects or open calls.
But you know, give us a littlewhile there might be soon.
Meredith Bergstrom (09:48):
Exactly.
Beth Bobbitt (09:49):
Yeah, Okay, Well, we'll stay tuned for that.
Yeah, and just, you know, acouple of reflection wrap up
questions here.
I'd love for you to talk alittle bit about how meaningful
design, particularly in a placelike Bittenville that's, you
know, really focused oncultivating the arts, culinary
and creating this like sense ofbelonging how important is that
(10:11):
design to foster all of that?
Meredith Bergstrom (10:14):
Yes, I think it's critical, one of the
things that really drew me tocity planning when I first
started getting involved inthinking about that as a career.
Every place that I've lived orvisited is the way it is because
(10:38):
somebody made a decision right,or a series of somebody's made
a lot of decisions.
They put it in city ordinances,right, somebody has to put a
sidewalk here or somebody needsto build this way, and so our
experience of place isincredible, is every day
influenced by design decisions.
And I think you know,particularly in a place like
Northwest Arkansas, which isgrowing so rapidly, we know that
(11:01):
we're likely to double inpopulation by 2050.
You know that's essentiallybuilding a whole, nother
Northwest Arkansas and we.
So it's amazing that we'regrowing and we can choose how we
grow, and so those designdecisions are what are going to
determine future access to foreveryone, right to our parks and
public spaces, to housing thatthey can afford.
I really do think that designinfluences all of those
(11:24):
decisions.
So we're excited to be able tocontinue to engage in really
people focused design,supporting design initiatives
that start with really robustcommunity engagement and then
continue that as a through line.
I think that's really key.
Beth Bobbitt (11:38):
Yeah, I think we're really lucky to be in a
place that is so intentionalabout that and really focused on
providing those resources andmaking those connections and
connecting projects and firmsand places.
So thank you for all of that.
So fun question.
Let's talk a little bit aboutyou personally, your favorite
(12:00):
architecture design moment inBentonville and it could be a
view, it could be a place.
What do you think?
Meredith Bergstrom (12:05):
Yes.
So I mean, as soon as I thinkabout it it's funny because it's
almost involuntary just likecomes into my mind.
It's that moment when I get toCrystal Bridges you know you've
arrived either in a car oryou're walking or biking and
you're entering the museum andespecially if you're coming from
the top, you've seen the silvertree and then you kind of look
(12:27):
out and you see this view of agreen rooftop and trees and more
art and natural space.
It's just so inviting it makesyou feel like curious about
what's next you want to.
So inviting, it makes you feellike curious about what's next
you want to go in Like.
To me that has always been justa really special architectural
moment.
Beth Bobbitt (12:43):
Yeah, and I mean, as we've talked about, totally
intentional.
You know, moshe Safdie, ofcourse the architect behind that
wanted this subtlety as you'reentering and then, like you said
, when you're upon it, you canreally see the breadth and the
depth and you have that view ofthe entire campus.
Meredith Bergstrom (12:59):
So, yeah, and it's so grounded, like in
its place in Northwest Arkansas,so you see the building and you
also see the natural world.
I think it's such a greatrepresentation of the
interchange between those twoenvironments.
Yeah.
Beth Bobbitt (13:12):
Become.
Very iconic, for sure, yes.
Very iconic for sure, yes.
So if you had a crystal balland you're looking into it, what
do you think you would see forBentonville, related to urban
planning or design?
What's in store?
Meredith Bergstrom (13:27):
Yes, well, I will give my vision, and I
think it's that in.
I mean, I would love to imaginethat in 10 years we are a place
that is just hyper-connectedfor multimodalism, that people
can choose to bike or walk, ortake transit even, or drive to
where they need to get, to go,and it's that connectivity that
(13:52):
provides the landscape for allof these other important sort of
design decisions.
When it comes to buildings, Ithink that's been a real
learning of ours from theprogram so far is that you know,
it's one thing to build thisbeautiful place or a responsive
place to local needs, it'sanother to make sure that people
can really easily get there.
So I think these designdecisions that we're making have
(14:15):
to be sort of in tandem fromand connected to how people get
to the places that they're goingas well, as you know, really
great destinations.
Beth Bobbitt (14:25):
Right.
Yes, some logistics andtransportation in there too as
well, yeah, tell us how to learnmore.
Are there any resourcesnewsletter, newsletter, website,
social you want to?
Meredith Bergstrom (14:36):
yes, absolutely so.
Please, uh, watch the waltonfamily foundation website
waltonfamilyfoundationorg.
There's lots of updates aboutthe design excellence program,
but also all of our other work.
Um, and then really, you know,we we support initiatives that
are being accomplished by thecity of bentonville and other
non-profit organizations, so,especially when it comes to some
of the projects that areunderway right now, the City of
(14:58):
Bentonville has a great websiteshowcasing 8th Street Promenade,
which we talked about, and someof the other designs for that,
but also projects like 8thStreet Gateway Park, which is
going to be amazing, and so lotsto come.
Beth Bobbitt (15:12):
Yeah, good teaser.
We'll have to stay tuned formore.
Thanks, Meredith, for spendingsome time with us.
It was lovely chatting and lookforward to hearing more about
the Design Excellent program.
Yeah, thanks so much for havingme.
As always, Visit Bentonville ishere to help you navigate
things to do, where to eat andstay and what's going on in our
new American town.
Give us a follow on socialmedia, sign up for the
(15:35):
newsletter and check out ourwebsite at visitbentonvillecom.
Thanks for.
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