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350 square feet per visitor
Room to linger
The founders were bothered by museums where visitors stand 20 or 30 feet from a painting, taking a picture of it over the heads of 10 or 15 people. Glenstone sits on about 400 acres and is built around a slow, calm pace and the seamless integration of art, architecture, and nature. A visitor can stand in front of one piece for 10 or 20 minutes.
The walk in
The experience starts in the parking facility, where every space has a tree. Visitors check in at an arrival hall and then walk six, seven, or eight minutes through the landscape, past monumental sculpture. The building stays hidden until the last couple of minutes, so by the time they reach the pavilions they have left behind their thoughts about the world and the daily hustle, and they are ready to engage.
Trees and collection
The grounds hold close to 20,000 planted trees, some very large and some one inch in caliber, along with forested areas and pastures with flowers. The collection holds more than 2,000 artworks, chosen the way the founders choose businesses: they wanted A-plus works by the most defining artists of their time.
How long do visitors really look at art?
A study by Jeffrey and Lisa Smith published in 2001 timed visitors at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The median visitor spent about 17 seconds in front of a work, and the average was a little over 27 seconds. Crowds, reading wall labels, and photographing paintings all eat into that window. Later studies at other museums found similar numbers.
Why hide a museum building until the end?
Japanese garden designers call the technique miegakure, or hide and reveal. Paths bend around trees and rises so that the destination appears in stages. The delay builds anticipation and gives visitors time to leave behind what they were thinking about. Landscape architects in many traditions use the same device in approaches to temples, estates, and parks.
How do trees change a parking lot?
Tree canopy shades asphalt, which absorbs sunlight and radiates heat. The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that shaded surfaces can be 20 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than unshaded ones at peak. Cooler pavement means cooler parked cars and less heat radiated into the surrounding air. Trees also take up water from the soil and release it through their leaves, which cools the air further.
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