This summer, the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) opened in Bentonville, Arkansas, attracting attention both for its striking architecture and revolutionary ideas about medicine. The four-storey building with its angular facade is clad in earth-tone precast concrete and brass panels, reflecting the geology of the surrounding landscape and the Ozark Mountains. Unusually for such a grand project – it has a rooftop garden, reflection pond, wellness studio and gym – a local architectural...