Geographically positioned as the linchpin between three major districts of Norfolk’s urban core: Downtown business, NEON arts, and the new St. Paul’s Quadrant, the city commissioned the design team to “explore the art of the possible” to leverage historic tax credits and donations from private philanthropy to realize a greater project that will position the Chrysler-Scope Complex as the major catalyst for future development in downtown Norfolk and the region.  The success of this project as a catalyst for redevelopment will deliver the message to ‘outsiders’ that Norfolk is a forward-thinking, strategic visionary for the arts

The overarching goal of the project is to re-imagine the Chrysler-Scope Complex as a modernized icon that will represent the City of Norfolk as the uncontested leader of arts and culture in the region. 

To perform this work, VIA design architects, in collaboration with cultural facilities architects GWWO, conducted workshops, charrettes, and presentations with the support of project stakeholders, city staff, patrons, and supporting consultant team members to develop design direction for the project.  The Chrysler-Scope Complex Improvements project affords Norfolk an opportunity unlike any other, with the potential to significantly alter how Norfolk will be described and talked about long into the future. 

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