Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library houses one of the world’s most important collections of American Decorative Arts and a significant research library. Former home to the renowned collector and horticulturalist H.F. Du Pont, in the first half of the twentieth century, the museum today displays nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America from around 1640 to 1860. The 1,000-acre site itself is an important piece of cultural history, used extensively for conservation, research and education purposes.
Steensen Varming developed a holistic master plan for exterior lighting to introduce sustainability and enhance the visitor experience of Winterthur at night. The lighting masterplan guides staged improvements encompassing over 100 buildings, monuments, landscape, vehicular and pedestrian connections. This creates a coherent and harmoniously lit environment while reflecting the individual character of the spaces. An appreciation of darkness, light and shadow is key to the formation of focal points, facilitating orientation and wayfinding.