SC Johnson’s innovative Fortaleza Hall, named for the city in northeast Brazil that was at the heart of two life-changing expeditions by the Johnson family, represents a commitment to the company’s legacy of visionary thinking and inspired architecture.

Architecture Destination

In 2010, SC Johnson opened Fortaleza Hall at its international headquarters in Racine, Wis. and with it, the company continues its commitment to excellence in architecture. The campus, already an architectural destination, hosts thousands of Frank Lloyd Wright enthusiasts each year as they come to see Wright’s renowned designs including the Administration Building, which opened in 1939 and the Research Tower, which opened in 1950. In June 2012, the company opened The SC Johnson Gallery: At Home with Frank Lloyd Wright, which features an annually rotating exhibit of the legendary architect’s designs, artifacts, drawings and more around families and the American home.

Fortaleza Hall, designed by world-renowned architect Norman Foster and his firm, London-based Foster + Partners, is a contemporary partner to the innovative buildings and offerings of Frank Lloyd Wright. In 2011, the building earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Foster + Partners is also responsible for such notable projects as:
• The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
• The restored Reichstag in Berlin
• Wembley Stadium
• 30 St. Mary Avenue (better known as The Gherkin) in London

Form and Function

The spherical-shaped, 60,000-square-foot facility, which broke ground in September 2007, has two distinct sections:

• Fortaleza Hall, which provides a historical context for the company and the advances that continue to take place there through displays and memorabilia like the replica, twin-engine S-38 amphibious plane that Sam Johnson flew to Fortaleza, Brazil in 1998, the Frank Lloyd Wright Research Library, The SC Johnson Gallery: At Home with Frank Lloyd Wright, and Legacy Gallery

• The Commons, which offers employees dining, concierge services, company store, bank and fitness center in a comfortable environment.

The two facilities are linked by a mostly-glass connecting atrium. Facility facts:

Fortaleza Hall

• Legacy Gallery tells a number of stories about Sam Johnson, the Carnaúba expeditions and the rich history of the company

• Mural – the first installation of its kind in North America, the mural features 8,000 square feet of precast white concrete with rasterized images of the Brazilian palm forest, recreated from a photo taken during H.F. Johnson, Jr.’s 1935 expedition.

• Polyconic mosaic map – depicting the rich topography of the Western hemisphere and tracing Sam Johnson’s journey from Racine to Brazil. The map was created using 19,200 pieces of four different kinds of sustainably harvested wood

The SC Johnson Gallery: At Home with Frank Lloyd Wright

The Gallery showcases a rotating selection of Wright’s designs and artifacts and explores the legendary architect’s influence on families and the American home. The first exhibit explores Wright’s influential Prairie-Style, which established his reputation as a world-famous architect.

• The collection will continue to explore Wright’s influence on the home throughout his career – including his American System-Built pre-cut housing venture of 1917 and his reinvention of the American home in 1940, as well as artifacts from the mid-1950s when Wright’s work reached legendary scale.

• The Gallery is free and open to the public

• The Gallery is nearly 2,000-square-feet

• More than 500 hours were spent on conservation of the artifacts which includes a number of rarely or never-before-seen items such as a window from the Coonley Playhouse, a chair from the Frank Lloyd Wright Oak Park Studio (Ill.) and the Heath House Wall Sconces.

• There are more than 20 photo reproductions and photo murals of designs, drawings and rooms

• The Gallery is co-curated by Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, Archives Director at Taliesin West in Arizona, and Brady Roberts, Chief Curator of the Milwaukee Art Museum.

The Lily Pad

The Lily Pad, a unique gift shop featuring exclusive SC Johnson memorabilia and Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired items, is open in conjunction with all tours.

• Sample items include: Glass tube trivets and glass tube-style glassware which are inspired by the glass tubes Wright used in the Administration Building; Research Tower-inspired earrings and wall-hangings, vintage SC Johnson signage and unique SC Johnson-branded items.

• The Lily Pad is a reference to the dendriform columns in The Great Workroom, which is housed in The Administration Building. Because of their unique design these columns are also called mushrooms, golf tees or lily pads.

Frank Lloyd Wright Research Library

The library is housed in Fortaleza Hall. It features:

• More than 300 books about Wright and his career
• 54 magazines and bound publications
• 40 small pamphlets and clippings
• 250 digital drawings and blueprints
• 125 digital interior, exterior and construction photos
• 140 digital reproduction of letters
• 18 videos

• An original Wright desk and three-legged chair from SC Johnson’s Administration Building

• Information on three Racine Wright-designed buildings that were not built: the YWCA building, the Roy Petersen House and a café intended for the Racine airport (drawings, blueprints and correspondence)

Vertical Garden

• Provides a soil-free, self-supporting system light enough to hang on the wall

• Designed by Patrick Blanc, artist, botanist with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research, France) and holder of two doctorates from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris

• Nearly 2,500 plants and 79 species largely native to Central and South America

Waterfall and Reflecting Pool

• Water falls 14 feet into a reflecting pool 28 feet long

• System circulates and stores 750 gallons of water

• Framed by a monumental 24-step glass tread staircase

Grand Staircases

• Two grand staircases, on the north and south sides of the building, are dedicated to H.F. Johnson, Jr. and Sam Johnson

• Quotes that demonstrate their commitment to the company’s core values are etched in the walls

Soundscape

• A 3-D veil of sound; computer-generated and linked to National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to compliment the weather and the time of day in Racine with sounds of Brazil

• The sounds do not run on a loop so no two days will sound alike

Compass

• Three curved, sustainably harvested, U.S. black walnut benches depict the expedition stops of both H.F. Johnson, Jr. and Sam Johnson

• The benches begin in the north part of the building and run south, consistent with their journeys

Glass Panels

• Fortaleza Hall is made of curved, low-iron one-inch-thick, glass panels

• The glass was installed by Gartner Steel and Glass GmbH, a German-American company specializing in steel and glass structures

• Each panel is 7.5 square feet tall and 16 feet wide

• 85 glass panels make up Fortaleza Hall

Employee Amenities in The Commons

• 4,400-square-foot fitness center for employees

• Employee dining area called Alimento (Portuguese for “food”)

• Full-service employee bank with an ATM

• Concierge service to assist with employee requests

• Company store sells the company’s newest and trusted brands at a discounted price

Visit SC Johnson

SC Johnson offers three tour programs which run from 1 hour to 3.5 hours. Tours are on Fridays and Saturdays and are all free of charge. They include:

• The Legacies Tour (3.5 hours) – SC Johnson's headquarters is home to remarkable legacies by inspired leaders. In this in-depth, 3.5-hour tour, explore the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Administration Building as well as the award-winning Foster + Partners-designed Fortaleza Hall with the Spirit of Carnaúba airplane soaring at its heart. See Sam Johnson's acclaimed film Carnaúba: A Son's Memoir, with its enduring family message, and enjoy the Academy Award-winning documentary To Be Alive! This tour also includes The SC Johnson Gallery: At Home with Frank Lloyd Wright.

• The Landmarks Tour (2 hours) – Designed in 1936, the Administration Building was the first project that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for SC Johnson. Renowned for its unique dendriform columns, open concept half-acre of workspace, circular “bird cage” elevators and 43 miles of glass tubing, this landmark is celebrated as one of the top 25 buildings of the 20th century. In this 2-hour tour, explore the Administration Building and visit the award-winning Foster + Partners-designed Fortaleza Hall. Then, enjoy The SC Johnson Gallery: At Home with Frank Lloyd Wright.

• The Gallery Tour (1 hour) – The 1-hour Gallery Tour is designed for those who want to focus on the new SC Johnson Gallery and its debut exhibit.

The Lily Pad, a unique gift shop featuring exclusive SC Johnson memorabilia and Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired items, is open in conjunction with all tours.

For more information on tours to the SC Johnson campus, please call 262-260-2154, email Tours@scj.com, or use the online scheduling tool at www.scjohnson.com/visit

For Press Inquiries:
262-260-2440
uspublicaffairs@scj.com
www.scjohnson.com
www.scjohnson.com/visit

About SC Johnson
SC Johnson is a family-owned and managed business dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE®, KIWI®, OFF!®, PLEDGE®, RAID®, SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX® and ZIPLOC® in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN®, TANA®, BAMA®, BAYGON®, BRISE®, KABIKILLER®, KLEAR®, MR. MUSCLE®, and RIDSECT®. The 126-year-old company, that generates $9 billion in sales, employs nearly 13,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. www.scjohnson.com