Facilities

The William Johnston Building is home to the Departments of Interior Architecture + Design, Art Education, Art History and the School of Art & Design’s library and gallery. It holds classrooms, studios, a critique space and computer labs, most available with 24/7 swipe access for majors.

The east-facing original section of the building, which contains the Suwannee Dining Hall, was built in 1913. The west-facing, newly renovated section opened in 1939. The recent renovation, completed in 2011, marries a traditional collegiate Gothic exterior with an ultramodern interior, which includes a dramatic five-story atrium. During the renovation, great care was taken to preserve many of the building’s historical interior finishes, including the salt-glazed tile wainscot in the foyer of the first-floor lobby and on the second floor between the two formal dining halls, which are now lecture halls; wood ceiling beams and hand-painted cork ceiling tiles that depict sparrows, butterflies, herons and waves; and the cast-stone sculpture of Demeter, the Greek goddess of plenty, which is above the west-front doors.

The architects renovated the Johnston Building to conform to the standards of the Architecture 2030 Challenge, an initiative by the global architecture and building community to build “carbon neutral” buildings that strive to emit zero greenhouse gases in their operation.  As part of FSU’s committment to sustainable design, the William Johnston Building earned LEED® Gold certification.

The WJB Gallery, located within the William Johnston Building is an 1100-square-foot exhibition space shared and managed by four departments of the College of Fine Arts: Art, Art Education, Art History, and Interior Architecture & Design.  The 24 x 46-foot glass-walled gallery stretches the length of the central five-story atrium in the Johnston Building, providing rich natural lighting and secure but vivid public exposure for exhibitions. College of Fine Arts faculty and students curate exhibitions in consultation with a gallery committee of representatives from each department and the Museum of Fine Arts.

The scope and timeline of exhibitions varies with the needs and resources of the host department. Previous shows have included extended displays of student-designed furniture, short-term one-artist openings, semester-long curatorial projects, and one-night dance performances. The gallery features LED track lighting, freestanding partitions (adjustable for long-term exhibits), and a security system. 

Gallery Exhibitions