S.C. Johnson

SC Johnson holds Project Honor as an important landmark in the SCJ story, equivalent to such significant past undertakings as the design and construction of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Great Workroom and the Research Tower, the making of the To Be Alive film for the New York World’s Fair, the subsequent relocation of the venue SCJ built to show the film – the Golden Rondelle theatre – to Racine, and the 1998 Carnaúba expedition. As the latest in this series of accomplishments, Project Honor embraces the results of these past projects (the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, the Rondelle and the films, and the Sikorsky S-38) and incorporates them into a unified, forward looking concept. The airplane rebuilt for the 1998 expedition, called the Carnaúba, will form the centerpiece display of Project Honor.  Below the suspended display of the Carnaúba will be a recreated Brazilian palm tree environment that SCJ staff will use as a place to relax and to hold casual meetings, and an exhibition space that will tell the story of SC Johnson’s values. Adjacent to this central area will be a new staff dining facility and a conference facility. Our report outlines in detail the building program for each of these spaces.

Project Honor has been conceived in concert with an overall campus masterplan which in turn is responding to a series of SCJ strategic initiatives such as the need for additional staff office space, training facilities and staff food service. This presents an opportunity for Project Honor to play a leading role in campus solution, by integrating some of the key existing building assets on campus, re-energizing those facilities, and bringing them together as part of unified project.

Lord Cultural Resources’ Concept Development process included accompanying the SC Johnson planning committee on a nationwide best practice site visits, visiting the campus and learning about the values the company wants to communicate, facilitating a visioning session in Racine and subsequently assisting with the international search for an architectural team to design the project.