Luther George Park | Springdale, Arkansas | 2020

Architects: Trahan Architects
Design Team: Trey Trahan, Leigh Breslau, Robbie Eleazer, Jonathan Fidalgo, Jarri Hasnain, Sarah Cancienne, and Ryan Barnette
Client: The Downtown Springdale Alliance
Landscape Architects: Spackman Mossop Michael

Designed in collaboration with landscape architects Spackman Mossop Michaels, Luther George Park is conceived as a connective gateway bridging the active corridor of the Razorback Greenway with the main street life of Emma Avenue.

Set along Spring Creek in Downtown Springdale, Arkansas, the park fosters healthy community engagement by providing a sustainable venue for recreation, play, and outdoor performances.

The Performance Pavilion is located on the park’s central axis – the dynamic form twists and straddles the pathway to form an inviting gateway into the park.

Fronting the great lawn, the pavilion will host performances of up to 3,000 people.

The shell leans back toward the earth fronting the small lawn, enabling small events like movie night in the park to occur for 50-100 people.

This innovative dual-sided arrangement is achieved by integrating all of the performance power and theatrical rigging into the shell – allowing for a myriad of flexible uses.

When not hosting a performance, the shell acts as a shade canopy welcoming the community to gather beneath its sculptural wing-like form.

A curving ramp and earth berm along the stage’s back edge seamlessly blend the platform with the landscape, providing everyone equal access.

The shell of the performance pavilion is constructed from 10mm thick weathering steel sheets by CIG Architecture – the fabricators of many of Anish Kapoor’s sculptures. The raw steel will patina with time to reveal the nuances of the environmental conditions amplified by the torquing geometry – taking on a rich and earthy finish.

The roof of the pavilion is controlled by a ruled surface whose rule lines define the panel joint layouts. The underside of the pavilion has a variable section that smoothly integrates the structural depth, the performance integrations, and the acoustical perforation.

Together, the two surfaces achieve an impressive 150’ span with only 2 connections to the ground – making the structure appear weightless.