The Ledger - World's First Bikeable Building. Part 1

I got an almost private tour of the Ledger in Bentonville—the world’s first bikeable building. Despite seeing a lot of drafts and drawings of its development earlier, it is so different in person, all finished up.

The Ledger’s first two levels are completely built. The first is dedicated to co-working space, but the second has several offices. One cool thing about every room is that there’s some custom local artwork in each office for decoration. It’s an excellent modern place to hang out and enjoy work.

The Ledger is known for being the world’s first genuinely bikeable building, so you can ride your bike all around it because it ramps everywhere. It’s still in development, but I’ll cover what we know about it so far.

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Artworks in the Ledger

Despite the Ledger already being a masterpiece in its own right, the designers took art installations to another level. When completed, the workspace will boast over 200 original pieces of artwork. Bike rides up, down, and into the offices will always be a wonderful experience.

The Ledger partnered with CACHE to curate artists and artworks decorating the Ledger. They selected over 30 local designers and designated areas in the building each’s work would embellish. Moreover, the facility collaborated with Stefan Sagmeister to bring the bike ramps to life with art.

I can’t think of anything more fun than bike-riding to work, but these exclusive designs will make the workspace even more desirable to hang around.

CACHE Artworks in the Ledger

The Ledgers’ goal has always been to provide Bentonville folks with a workplace that means more than a building. Hence, the first and most appreciated proof was the concept of being an utterly bikeable facility—a feat that has yet to be achieved.

It perfectly aligned with the town’s culture, being the mountain biking capital of the world, and everyone was ecstatic, eagerly expecting the grand opening. The zigzag lanes will lead up to the sixth (last) floor, while bikers can enter spaces at any level.

However, The Ledger didn’t stop there.

To further connect with town and NWA locals, they partnered with the Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange (CACHE) to decorate the whole property.

Through various means, the collaboration carefully curated a list of 35 artists (mostly local) that’ll feature in the facility. Their work will be in meeting rooms, nooks, and common spaces.

They could finally connect art to real estate and economics, as CACHE supplied Ledger with a general understanding of the region, its cultural hub, and the best ways to work with artists who made a living here.

After visiting Ledger, I can assure you that the partnership was worthwhile. Each artwork is unique and stunning, but above all, I can foresee NWA locals relating to each piece.

As the Director of Public and Visual Art for CACHE, Lucas Cowan, stated, it’s impressive to see so much creativity in this region, especially for its size and development stage. Now, a small portion of such will always be available for the community to appreciate in the Ledger.

Here are a few of the artists deserving accolades for such:

Aaron Richard Turner

Aaron is a professional photographer who uses his talent to comprehend the ideas of home and resilience in the Mississippi Deltas and Arkansas.

He graduated from Ohio University and has settled in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he is an Assistant Professor of Art, Photography & Interdisciplinary Practice at the University of Arkansas.

Danielle Hatch

One of the included artists for the Ledger, Danielle Hatch, is a sculptor that takes pride in utilizing home-building and home-making materials to expose the underlying structures that deter women from authentically expressing themselves.

She is a recipient of several awards, including:

Purchase Award, International Art Competition, 2019
Winner at the Owl Tank Business Plan Competition, 2014
Juror’s Runner-Up Award, A Juried Art Exhibition, 2006

Oluwatobi Adewumi

CACHE also felt that this Nigerian artist deserves a section in the Ledger, thanks to the story-telling works of his past life & settling in Arkansas after migration.

He is particularly adept with acrylic paint and charcoal in bringing depth to the subjects behind each piece of artwork.

Hong Chun Zhang

Hong has always been immersed in the art world, even before moving from China to the United States in 1996 for her honors at California State University. Thanks to her experience from both worlds, her artwork is as striking as ever.

This artist’s work is dedicated to exploring gender, environment, cross-culture, and social justice.

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Thomas Coffey

Tacoma-grown Thomas Coffey, now based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is among the generous painters beautifying the Ledger with his works.

He strives to share his perception of the environment with every viewer, whether joyful, peaceful, overwhelming, frantic, or any of these combinations.

Ledger Critters by Stefan Sagmeister

Although the Ledger highlights creative works from 35 artists, the most significant art installation will be from Stefan Sagmeister, an Austrian graphics designer.

The design will escort bikers through the three-quarter mile (1.2 kilometers) of the bike ramps up the facility, and guess what it’s all about?—Critters.

95 insects of 13 unique local species carry brilliant jewels on their backs. Oz Art NWA assisted with producing the incredible concrete, and Filipino Raxenne Maniquiz helped with her color prowess. However, the Grammy Award Winner will spearhead the venture, as announced in July 2022.

Imagine dozens of adorned critters following you up and down your workplace daily. It’s amazing!

And that wraps up part 1 of this detailed overview of The Ledger. For more information, check out part 2, exploring other facets of The Ledger.

Final Thoughts

Finally, the first two floors of the Ledger in Bentonville opened in 2022, and I’m grateful I could get a tour of the facility. It looked way more impressive than I’d seen in photos.

The remaining four floors (6 in total) are still under construction.

However, the building is more than just a workplace in Bentonville. It has incredible artwork from over 30 artists (most based in Arkansas).

The bike ramps have an impressive design of local insects with a jewel atop, credit to the Grammy-award-winning Stefan Sagmeister.

The Ledger – World’s First Bikeable Building. Part 1