Challenging Museum in a Ravine Opens on Time
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened to the public on Nov.11, 2011. The complex was completed on schedule, according to Bill Greek, senior vice president of Linbeck Group LLC, which led the joint venture that built the project. Construction of the 201,000-sq-ft museum—a collection of 10 linked buildings—was challenging, thanks to its setting over or alongside a stream in a blasted out ravine in Bentonville, Ark., and its two weirs, curved forms and cable-supported roofs, courtesy of architect Moshe Safdie. Work even required damming Crystal Spring. Though the museum is open to the public, the diverted creek has not yet been filled with water. That operation is expected later this month.
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