The Stella Boyle Smith Music Center in Little Rock’s East Village is the Symphony’s first permanent home in its 58-year history and we couldn't be more honored to have been a part of it! The doors opened this past September and has since integrated beautifully into the rapidly growing Little Rock’s East Village community. The building provides access to music education, music performance, and music making to both the you of the community as well as the adults.
Due to the project location, the design process was highly collaborative between the lead on the project, WER Architects, and both our Civil and Landscape teams. It was imperative that the site integrate seamlessly with the building design and the surrounding urban context as the site is connected to the adjacent Heifer campus. While the project looks relatively simple in terms of design, its success lies in the smaller details that make it a more intimate and impactful experience for those in Little Rock’s East Village that wish to broaden their musical education.
The landscape design directly responds to the musical themes weaved throughout the building design by mirroring the sectioning of an orchestra into the different instrument families of Brass, Strings, Percussion, and Woodwind. The colorful native plants through each section in these above ground detention areas acting as the musicians to this ecological symphony. Along with the design of the actual site, there are many high end materials and finishes that allow this unique design to blend into the surrounding urban context including concrete jointing that responds to the architecture, bike racks and benches.
The biggest challenge of the site’s design was ensuring that it held a unique identity for Arkansas Symphony Orchestra as their first permanent home but also finding its place among the Heifer campus and the surrounding East Village. This final design strikes that balance perfectly and will serve to foster the next generation of Arkansas’ greatest musical minds.
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