NORTON MUSEUM OF ART

The new masterplan restores the logic of Wyeth’s plan, reasserting the clarity of the main axis, balancing the different building heights and providing flexible, welcoming visitor facilities to attract a wider local and international audience.  

The project aims to transform the existing assemblage of buildings into a world-class cultural destination within a sub-tropical garden setting. A new street frontage on South Dixie Highway to the west redefines the museum’s relationship with the city and reasserts the main entrance on the central axis – visitors will once again be able to see through the building via a new, transparent entrance lobby and refurbished glass and iron courtyard doors. 

The new entrance is signalled by three new double-height pavilions, which mediate between the low-rise galleries and three-storey Nessel Wing and unify the whole composition with a shared materials palette of white stone. The pavilions house a state-of-the-art auditorium and event space and are unified beneath a metal roof canopy, which projects to shade the entrance plaza and shelter visitors from sub-tropical rains. Taking advantage of the wonderful Florida climate from October to April, the landscaping of the gardens and central courtyard incorporates native trees and flowers to provide shaded walkways, and the former parking lot is transformed into a sculpture lawn. The design also includes a new museum shop and a new restaurant with al-fresco garden seating which, like the new pavilion spaces, can operate independently of the museum to activate the campus throughout the day and at night. 

Photo credits: Foster + Partners