21c Museum Hotel, Bentonville is Deborah Berke Partners' first ground-up building for 21c Museum Hotels. Unlike the Louisville and Cincinnati hotels that preceded it, 21c Bentonville gave the architects the chance to create architectural character rather than work within the framework of a historic building. The designers took advantage of this opportunity by composing two volumes that speak to the project’s balance as a public art museum and a private boutique hotel.
The spaces that serve the public program – such as 12,000 square feet of gallery space, The Hive restaurant, and a ballroom – are housed in a single-story structure as a series of distinct, yet related volumes. The formal composition and use of natural light varies between the interconnected spaces and creates a unique space for each function. The lobby gallery is illuminated by a clerestory, for example, while a light court punctuates the restaurant and floor-to-ceiling windows brighten the street-front ‘saw tooth’ gallery. Deborah Berke Partners' bold architecture and the contemporary art exhibited throughout the hotel unify these spaces and offer a dynamic cultural experience to the public.
Deborah Berke Partners maintained the energy of the public spaces in the adjacent multi-level structure, but ensured that the guestrooms and suites also provide a distinctly residential feel. In each of the 100+ rooms, custom designed furniture, a neutral palette enlivened with pops of color, and pieces from the 21c contemporary art collection create a modern setting for relaxing and living in art.
21c Museum Hotel, Bentonville, a balance of bold, sophisticated architecture and provocative contemporary art, welcomes visitors to Bentonville as a destination for art and culture.