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BETTESWORTHConstruction
architectural facade

How Bendheim’s Glass Rainscreen Makes Caddo Artwork Visible at The Momentary

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“Above and Below” is a building-scale artwork, not a painted sign. Caddo Nation artist Chad “Nish” Earles worked with Wheeler Kearns Architects and Bendheim’s Design-Assist team to wrap The Momentary’s SOMO parking structure in digitally printed, ceramic-frit glass. The panels form a ventilated rainscreen on the Bentonville, Arkansas, garage, allowing the artwork to function as architecture while daylight and air still reach the structure.

The result answers a question Earles says visitors ask: “What is that made of? What’s the story behind it? The history.” The material is custom architectural glass; the story is about ancestral Caddo visual language and the continuing presence of Caddo people.

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What “Above and Below” is

The Momentary’s SOMO parking structure is a three-level garage with approximately 600 spaces, according to Parking Today’s February 2026 feature. Its exterior is enclosed by a field of patterned glass panels rather than conventional blank parking-deck screens. The project page from Bendheim identifies the artwork as “Above and Below,” names Earles as the Caddo Nation artist, and credits Wheeler Kearns Architects, Bendheim’s Design-Assist team and Flintco, the installer.

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Earles developed the pattern language from ancestral Caddo pottery. The images are digitally printed onto glass with ceramic frit, then fused to the glass during tempering. Bendheim’s Wall-F compression fittings system holds the panels as a decorative glass rainscreen. In practical terms, the garage receives a durable, ventilated outer skin that also carries the artwork.

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Project facts at a glance

Question Documented answer
Where is it? The Momentary’s SOMO parking structure in Bentonville, Arkansas.
What is the artwork called? “Above and Below.”
Who created the artwork? Chad “Nish” Earles, a Caddo Nation artist.
What inspired the patterns? Ancestral Caddo pottery, as described by Parking Today in 2026.
How large is the garage? Approximately 600 spaces in a three-level structure (Parking Today, 2026).
What is printed on the panels? Digitally printed ceramic frit, fused to the glass during tempering.
How are panels attached? Bendheim’s Wall-F compression fittings system for decorative glass rainscreens.
Who installed the facade? Flintco, according to Bendheim’s project information.

How the glass facade works

Digital artwork becomes ceramic frit

The pattern is not a removable film or a surface decal. Bendheim describes the graphics as digital ceramic-frit printing on custom architectural glass. During tempering, the ceramic inks are fused to the glass. That process turns the image into part of the panel’s finished surface rather than a layer intended to be peeled away after installation.

Printing before tempering also makes fabrication a design-and-engineering exercise. The team has to translate Earles’ artwork into files that can be reproduced across many panels, account for panel edges and joints, and confirm how the pattern reads at the viewing distance of a parking structure. The published project descriptions do not provide panel dimensions, frit coverage percentages, color specifications or a laboratory performance report, so those details should not be inferred.

A ventilated rainscreen outside the garage

Parking Today describes the glass as a ventilated rainscreen. The glass sits outboard of the parking structure, creating an exterior layer that shields the deck from weather while allowing daylight and natural air movement. That distinction matters for an open-sided garage: the facade can provide a coherent architectural envelope without turning the structure into a sealed building.

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“Rainscreen” describes the facade’s role, not a claim that the glass alone makes the garage waterproof. Water management still depends on the supporting structure, drainage paths, joints, flashings and detailing behind the panels. The available project accounts explain the concept but do not publish independent water, wind, impact or thermal test results.

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Wall-F compression fittings hold the panels

Bendheim says its Wall-F compression fittings system was used for the decorative glass rainscreen. A compression system secures the panel at its edges or designated fixing points without requiring a conventional field of opaque cladding to cover the artwork. The fittings, substructure and tolerances must be coordinated so that the glass remains restrained under expected loads while the printed image stays aligned from panel to panel.

For a construction team, the important point is that the glass, fittings and support frame are one facade package. The system is not an interchangeable graphic applied after a standard garage screen has been designed. Structural movement, access for installation, replacement strategy and the visual rhythm of the fittings all affect the finished composition.

Why ancestral Caddo pottery matters to the design

A visual language with a specific place and history

The patterns draw on ancestral Caddo pottery, rather than using a generic “Native American” motif. Parking Today’s 2026 account places ancestral Caddo territory in what is now northeast Louisiana, east Texas, southwestern Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. It describes pottery traditions beginning around A.D. 800, with vessels often tempered with freshwater shell, burnished and incised for daily and ceremonial use.

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Those historical details are attributed to the trade feature; they should not be expanded into claims about every Caddo community or every pottery tradition. The architectural project’s significance comes from an identified Caddo artist choosing a visual language connected to his people, not from an anonymous decorative approximation.

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What the title means to Earles

Earles explains “Above and Below” as a reference to Caddo people being “still here today, above and below the ground,” as reported by Parking Today. His explanation keeps the title tied to his own intent. It is not a universal interpretation imposed on the work by the building or by a contractor.

In an interview with Building Enclosure, Earles said, “Art creates dialogue. Some of the questions I got were: What is that made of? What’s the story behind it? The history.” He also said, “Choosing the design, I wanted something that pulled from the visual language, that identity of us. It was something that Caddos could see and know that it was them.” The facade therefore has two audiences: people encountering the garage as public infrastructure and Caddo people looking for recognizable presence in the built environment.

How the project team divided the work

Artist and architect

Earles supplied the cultural and visual direction. Wheeler Kearns Architects integrated that direction into the parking structure’s exterior, including the scale, field of panels and relationship between the artwork and the garage. The design challenge was to preserve the character of a hand-informed pattern while producing a repeatable facade system that could be documented, fabricated and installed.

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Glass fabricator and design assistance

Bendheim provided the custom glass and its Wall-F rainscreen system. Its Design-Assist role connected the artwork to glass fabrication and attachment details. Ceramic-frit production, tempering and fitting coordination had to be resolved before panels could arrive on site.

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Installer

Bendheim identifies Flintco as the installer. Installation is where a digital pattern becomes a continuous building elevation: panels must be sequenced, protected, aligned and fixed while the supporting structure’s tolerances are absorbed. The public project descriptions do not list the installation schedule, crew size or field-replacement procedure.

What the construction sequence involves

  1. Develop the artwork for a panelized elevation. Earles’ pottery-informed patterns are organized into a graphic system that can cross multiple glass panels without losing the intended rhythm.
  2. Coordinate architecture and engineering. The architect and facade team establish panel sizes, joints, fixing locations, clearances and the ventilated cavity. At this stage, the graphic layout and the structural grid have to agree.
  3. Digitally print ceramic frit. The artwork is printed onto the specified glass using ceramic inks. The project accounts identify custom architectural glass rather than an off-the-shelf sheet product.
  4. Temper and fuse the image. The inks are fused to the glass during tempering, producing the finished ceramic-frit surface described by Parking Today.
  5. Prepare the Wall-F support system. Compression fittings and the supporting frame are installed in accordance with the system design, with provisions for movement, drainage and ventilation.
  6. Install and align the panels. Flintco installs the glass as the exterior rainscreen. Panel sequencing and joint alignment determine whether the artwork reads as a continuous facade from the street.
  7. Inspect the completed envelope. A project team should verify glass condition, fitting tightness, joint continuity, drainage paths and the intended visual alignment. The published sources do not state the project’s inspection checklist or acceptance criteria.

What this facade contributes to a parking structure

A large uninterrupted canvas

Glass permits the artwork to occupy the full height and length of the garage while retaining visual depth. Unlike a small sign mounted on a wall, the pattern is inseparable from the building’s public face. The project demonstrates how a parking structure can carry civic and cultural content at the scale people actually encounter it.

Daylight and natural air movement

Because the panels form a ventilated rainscreen, the facade can shield the structure from the elements while allowing daylight and natural air movement, according to Parking Today. Those are functional characteristics of this installation, not a published energy-performance claim. No source supplied for the project quantifies daylight levels, ventilation rates, heating or cooling savings.

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Protection and maintainability questions

Printed ceramic surfaces and mechanically attached panels offer a different maintenance profile from painted steel or a replaceable banner, but the available sources do not report cleaning intervals, graffiti-removal procedures, replacement costs or long-term weathering results. Owners planning a similar facade should require those items in specifications rather than assuming that “fused” means maintenance-free.

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Design questions for architects and builders

Design question How the SOMO project addresses it What remains project-specific
Can graphics run across a large facade? Custom digitally printed panels create a coordinated field of artwork. Panel dimensions, repeat strategy and color tolerances are not stated.
Can an open garage retain air and light? The glass is described as a ventilated rainscreen that allows daylight and natural air movement. Measured ventilation and daylight performance are not published.
How is the outer skin attached? Wall-F compression fittings provide the documented attachment approach. Structural calculations, loads and movement limits are not provided.
How should cultural intent guide detailing? The artwork was created by a Caddo Nation artist and developed with the architect. Each project still needs an artist-agreement, review and approval process.
What proves long-term durability? Ceramic inks were fused during tempering, according to Parking Today. Independent durability testing for this installation is not stated.

Why representation is part of the building brief

Thomas Boyster, project architect at Wheeler Kearns Architects, told Bendheim that the facade was “an opportunity to give permanent presence to that history, but also to that present, because the Caddo people are still there. It was a way to push back on erasure and say ‘we’re still here, and we have a rich culture.’” The statement connects material permanence with cultural continuity.

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Boyster also told Building Enclosure, “Making things beautiful is impactful. It’s good for people. We shouldn’t assume a parking garage has to be ugly.” In this project, beauty is not an afterthought applied after the structure is engineered. The artist’s intent, the ceramic-frit process and the rainscreen details were coordinated so that the garage’s everyday function supports a visible cultural message.

How to look at “Above and Below” on site

  1. Start with the material. Look for the glass panels and the fittings that hold them, rather than assuming the pattern is paint on concrete.
  2. Read across panel joints. The facade is assembled from multiple pieces; the way motifs continue, stop or change at joints is part of its architectural composition.
  3. Notice the garage behind the art. Daylight, openings and air movement remain part of the parking structure’s operation behind the rainscreen.
  4. Keep the attribution specific. The work is by Chad “Nish” Earles, a Caddo Nation artist, and its pottery references are presented through his design and the project team’s interpretation.
  5. Consider both time scales. “Above and Below” points to ancestral history and to Caddo presence today; the glass makes that relationship part of a contemporary public building.

What is established—and what is not

The project documentation establishes the artwork’s name, location, artist, architectural collaborators, glass process, rainscreen concept and installer. It does not establish a published independent test of wind resistance, water penetration, impact behavior, solar performance or long-term color retention. Those omissions do not negate the design; they define which questions a future specification or facilities plan must answer.

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For contractors considering a comparable facade, the practical lesson is to request a complete sample and mock-up process, panel-by-panel graphic coordination, attachment engineering, drainage details, access provisions and a maintenance manual. Cultural consultation and artist approval belong in that workflow alongside shop drawings and performance submittals.

The larger construction lesson

“Above and Below” shows how a parking garage can become a durable civic surface without sacrificing the openness that makes parking structures work. The project combines a custom ceramic-frit graphic, a ventilated glass rainscreen and compression-fitted attachments, but its central achievement is coordination: an artist’s cultural intent survives the translation into files, glass, fittings and field installation.

That coordination gives the facade its power. Visitors encounter a working garage, yet the building also names a living community and makes room for a story that conventional blank cladding would have concealed.

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