TO Orlandoin Florida, along the busy International Drive – tourist district of the city near the famous themed parks including Walt Disney World – there is a truly singular architecture, among the most photographed in the city: a Palazzo Capovolto25 meters high, with the roof planted in the ground as if it had fallen from the sky. The effect is surprisingly realistic, but it is obviously an illusion: a solid construction of three floors artfully designed to amaze through an ingenious perspective game. It is the seat of Wonderworksa museum of interactive science where experiments, multimedia installations and simulators allow visitors to discover natural phenomena, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, and learning notions by having fun.
Made in 1998 by the architect of Orlando Terry O. Nichoson (Nichoson Design International), the building carefully reproduces cracks, fixtures, lampposts and other architectural details, giving the illusion that the structure, uprooted by the foundations, has fallen upside down on the sidewalk, exactly above an old brick warehouse of the 1930s at the number 9067 of International Drive. Even the atrium appears upside down, with ceiling and floor exchanged of place. There imaginative story Designed by the creators of Wonderworks-designed to give an explanation both to the appearance of the building and the experience offered inside-it says that it was originally the top-secret laboratory of Professor Wonder, located on a remote island of the Bermuda triangle. During a failed experiment to harness the power of a tornado, a gigantic vortex would have torn him from the ground and transported for thousands of kilometers, making him land upside down in Florida.
Known as “the amusement park for the mind”, Wonderworks hosts over one hundred interactive attractions that combine science and fun. Visitors can experiment natural phenomena extreme In total safety (challenge winds from hurricane, Feel earthquake), or physical phenomena, how to lie down on a bed of nails without getting hurt and much more. There is also an area dedicated to space, thanks to Orlando’s proximity to the Space Coast.
The great success of Wonderworks Orlando has favored the opening of five other themed museums in the United States over time, all characterized by the iconic palace upside down in neoclassical style. The architect Terry O. Nichosonauthor of the original building, he also followed the development of subsequent locations as a consultant. These were inaugurated a Pigeon ForgeTennessee (2006); Panama City BeachFlorida (2009); Myrtle BeachSouth Carolina (2011); SyracuseNew York (2012) e BransonMissouri (2020). Each presents some scenographic variation linked to the context – as a different type of base – but the proposed experience remains unchanged: a successful mix of editainment and architectural spectacularity that invite to cross the threshold.
