Selser Schaefer Architects has been selected by Philbrook to re-imagine the museum and gardens for audiences of the future. The Philbrook Master Site Plan will align strategically with the Museum’s mission and goals for expanding its audience and growing attendance, increasing accessibility, and managing its current robust programming activities.
“We are thrilled to work with a creative, dynamic, and local firm that understands Philbrook’s history as well as the challenges and opportunities of building a museum for the future,” said Scott Stulen, president and director of Philbrook. “The Master Plan process will inform our goals to serve our growing audiences and to make Philbrook the most welcoming, engaging, and inspiring museum in the country. The full team of experts from varied fields that Selser Schaefer has recruited for this project will bring incredible change to our museum, turning Philbrook into even more of an interdisciplinary masterwork than it already is.”
Selser Schaefer Architects’ team includes RCH Studios, who will serve as the lead landscape architects on the project, M. Goodwin Museum Planning, a national leader in museum planning, and Walter Sedovic Architects, who specialize in the preservation and refinement of heritage buildings across the United States. Rounding out the team are local partners Salt Food Group, Wallace Engineering, Phillips + Gomez Inc., and Manhattan Construction Group.
The award-winning Selser Schaefer Architects team will approach the collective design process with a focus on the transformative power of place: actively engaging people with one another through the thoughtful, playful intersection of art, architecture, landscape, and storytelling.
“Philbrook is at the forefront of art and culture and is changing museum rules for the next generation and it is an honor that our team has been selected to lead this once-in-a-lifetime revisioning,” said Selser Schaefer Architects partner Shane Aaron. “We are thrilled at how aligned Philbrook is with our people-first design process, which we believe is integral during a time when museums across the country are grappling with the question of how they serve communities in a way that fosters engagement and participation.”
About Philbrook
The Philbrook Museum of Art is committed to being Tulsa’s most welcoming and engaging cultural institution, providing a unique trifecta of experiences: a historic home, a world-class art museum, and 25 acres of gardens. Through bold action and strategic investment, Philbrook creates a space for new ideas, diverse stories and perspectives, and social connections. Housed in the former Midtown home (built 1927) of Genevieve and Waite Phillips, the Philbrook Collection has grown to over 14,500 objects with a focus on American, Native American, and European art. Philbrook Museum of Art opened on October 25, 1939. The addition of a 70,000-square-foot wing in 1990 turned the historic home into a modern museum complex. A major garden renovation in 2004 cemented the museum’s reputation as “the most beautiful place in Oklahoma.” Serving over 160,000 visitors annually, Philbrook shines a light on Tulsa’s storied and complex past while building a diverse and creative vision of the city’s future.
