Heartland Whole Health Institute Opens

Heartland Whole Health Institute opens on the campus of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, celebrating the connection between art and wellness

Opening events at the building designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects include art and wellness programs, the inaugural exhibition The Art of Whole Health, and architecture tours

Bentonville, AR (May 1, 2025) – Heartland Whole Health Institute officially opened the doors of its new building today with a ribbon cutting and remarks from founder Alice Walton, President Claude Pirtle, and architect Marlon Blackwell. The 85,000-square-foot structure is designed to facilitate connections between art, nature, architecture, education, and wellness on the 134-acre Crystal Bridges Campus.

Heartland Whole Health Institute, founded in 2019 by philanthropist Alice Walton, works with the health care industry in developing a whole-health approach that considers the needs of the whole person with the goal of preventing disease, improving health outcomes, and sustaining wellness.

While the Institute is focused on working with the health care industry, its three-story building, designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects, features public areas on the first floor including art galleries, event spaces, and a café. The second and third floors of the building are dedicated to office space for the Institute and other non-profits founded by Walton, including Art Bridges Foundation and Alice L. Walton Foundation.

“The spaces around us matter. They impact our daily lives and our health and wellness,” said philanthropist Alice Walton. “Marlon Blackwell Architects has created a landmark building that integrates natural materials and thoughtfully designed spaces to promote well-being.” Inspired by the landscape of the Ozarks, the Institute features curved structures and vernacular building materials including stone, wood, and weathered brass. Natural finishes, textured materials, and views to the campus trails connect visitors to the surrounding environment.

“The Institute’s spaces, materials, and forms, drawn from the site’s topography and Ozark forests, enhance the connection to nature and place, and create an atmosphere to nurture the whole self,” said Marlon Blackwell, founding Partner of Marlon Blackwell Architects.

Inside, the palette of natural materials includes Venetian plaster walls, pecan and walnut woodwork, and travertine stone flooring. Inspired by an iconic painting in the Crystal Bridges art collection, Kindred Spirits, the design team selected textiles in a comparable natural color palette.

“With felt acoustic wall panels in a variety of greens and grays and wool broadloom carpeting that emulate moss and rock, the interiors evoke spending time in nature, surrounded by textures and colors,” said Ati Blackwell, founding Partner of Marlon Blackwell Architects.

“With the Institute opening on the campus of a world-class museum of art, we have the opportunity to help visitors experience art and wellness offerings and how they can aid whole health – our physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being,” said President Claude Pirtle. “We’re inspired by Marlon Blackwell Architects’ welcoming design for this building and look forward to providing a new destination for visitors on Crystal Bridges Campus.”

On the first floor of the Institute, visitors can view the inaugural art exhibition, The Art of Whole Health, curated by Crystal Bridges. Artworks range from Jennifer Steinkamp’s Primordial 1 video installation, Jun Kaneko’s Untitled,Heads, glazed ceramic sculptures, to Vik Muniz’ The Great Turf, after Albrecht Durer chromogenic color print.  

From May 1 to 3, the Institute and Crystal Bridges will welcome visitors with free programming held at the Institute, including architecture tours, art tours, artmaking projects, live music, Tai Chi, yoga, and more. The Institute’s unique meditation room, featuring plaster walls and a conical skylight, will be open as well. A full schedule of events is available here.

Additional Projects by Marlon Blackwell Architects on Crystal Bridges Campus
Marlon Blackwell Architects’ deep understanding of Crystal Bridges Campus was enhanced by the firm’s design work on multiple projects.

Crystal Bridges Campus Parking is a new six-story, 800-space parking deck that serves as a threshold into the campus. It includes a café and retail space on the ground level and an elevated art and performance space, named Sky Terrace, on the second level. These engaging spaces and striking architectural features elevate the typical parking deck building type into a vital, multipurpose destination on the thriving campus.

Within the museum, the firm’s work includes the Museum Store (which received an American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Interior Design) and the museum’s restaurant, Eleven. Currently, Marlon Blackwell serves on the design team for the collaboration between the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, University of Arkansas; DesignConnects; and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which was selected by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs to commission, organize, and curate the exhibition of the United States Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, opening May 10, 2025.

A Campus for Art and Wellness
In addition to the Institute, the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine will also open this year, welcoming its first class of students on July 14. Designed by architect Wesley Walls, AIA, of Little Rock, Arkansas based firm Polk Stanley Wilcox, the new state-of-the-art facility complements the School’s mission to reshape medical education with an innovative, four-year MD program that enhances conventional medical education with a whole-person approach to care.

In 2026, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will open a 114,000-square-foot expansion that will increase museum facilities by 50 percent. Safdie Architects has returned to create a seamlessly integrated expansion that resonates with the existing pavilions and outdoor spaces. The new structures will house additional galleries, educational facilities, event spaces, a café, and new indoor and outdoor gathering areas.