Once inside, visitors are immersed in natural light as they take in views of the Garden through the transparent south–facing façade. The lobby axis is centered on garden paths and fountains, providing an immediate sense of place. 

The building is designed around the idea of continuity of the experience of nature. The lantern serves as a moment of pause and reflection, evoking the feeling of entering a clearing in the woods. The suspended scrim is perforated in a pattern inspired by tree canopies, filtering and dappling light into the lobby. At night, the glow of the lantern acts as a beacon for visitors and the community. 

Custom terrazzo flooring reflects the local landscape with inlays of local river rock and brass accents representing the native Missouri woodland that appear as fallen leaves. The ticketing and visitor engagement desk forms are influenced and inspired by the shape of rounded rocks and pebbles, while pendant lights above provide a luminescent sparkle calling to mind fireflies, stars, and droplets of rain.

Walls dividing the dining areas and café include pressed botanical specimens from the Garden’s collection, while the overhead lighting mimics the form of flora in full bloom. The dining area, designed with local architectural partners, Tao + Lee, includes a custom bench and community table made from the trunk of a Shumard Oak Tree that was previously part of the Garden’s living collection.

The Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center is designed to help visitors pause and reflect on the scale and importance of the work being done at the Garden — including the thousands of species housed, discovered, and named there — and the impact the institution has in the community and worldwide.