'When architects design new additions for older museum buildings, frequently the new outshines— or simply ignores— the old. ...That is not the case here.'

摘要

How does a little museum in South Florida snag a high-profile international maven like Norman Foster, HON. FAIA, whose client list includes the British Museum in London, the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and the Prado in Madrid? This is the question I put to Hope Alswang who, as executive director and CEO of the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, oversaw a major expansion and renovation of the museum by the celebrated British architect. Alswang described a meeting nine years ago with Gilbert C. Maurer, the Norton Museum board member who had chaired the search committee that had just tapped her to be the new director. Maurer was COO of the Hearst Corp., and they met in his office on the 43rd floor of the Hearst Tower in New York. "We were discussing how the museum should move forward," she recalled. "We agreed that what we needed was a master plan, and Gil asked me who I would like to do the job. Rather cheekily I answered, 'What about Norman Foster?'"