At the Renzo Piano-designed California Academy of Sciences’ new home, the Islands of Evolution exhibit examines the Academy’s various expeditions and research in the Galápagos and Madagascar with a focus on evolution. Volume Inc. co-opted the scientific specimen box as a method of organizing content and gave it a contemporary spin, allowing for varied and compelling arrangements of different kinds of information.
Green Community was the third in a series of sustainability exhibits at the National Building Museum and the first major exhibition in the United States to explore the complex process of creating and sustaining healthy communities. The exhibition looked at how communities are changing their global impact and explores a variety of sustainable planning strategies such as cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields and grayfields, transit-oriented planning, smart use of natural resources, land conservation, and minimizing waste.
Situated on the plaza to the east of the new Los Angeles Police Administration Building, the Memorial for Fallen Officers is a wall of brass and light that marks a transition between the plaza’s formal and informal spaces. From a distance, the 32-ft.-long, 12-ft.-high memorial appears as a solid wall of lit brass. As visitors approach, it becomes evident that the wall is, in fact, a vast assemblage of precision-cut brass plates with custom-drawn letterforms spelling out the names of 202 LAPD officers killed in the line of duty.
London is a city of complex structures, partly dating back to medieval times, with few long vistas but a multitude of destinations and attractive areas. With more than 27 million visitors a year, walkability is important. It’s well known that London’s “tube map” is one of the best wayfinding diagrams in the world. But the above-ground terrain has been less well served. Surveys conducted in conjunction with the Legible London program showed that more than 40% of people have been using the tube map for walking, too.
Located just north of Times Square, The Official NYC Information Center integrates architecture and media into a seamless experience. The centerpiece of the experience is a bank of three large interactive map tables. By placing a “You are here” disc on the table, visitors can explore the city and create custom guidebooks that can be emailed, sent via SMS, or printed. Visitors can also see their saved places on a large-scale, Google Earth fly-through.
Local Projects (media design), WXY Architecture (architecture)
Rugerero Survivors Village Sunflower Oil Cooperative
Through the work of the ex;it Foundation and its founder, Alan Jacobson, the Rugerero Survivors Village Sunflower Oil Cooperative near Gisenyi, in western Rwanda, has been operating since 2008 in a neglected building near the village.
The foundation has worked with 50 Rwandan genocide survivors to create this rare opportunity for income-producing activities, with the goal of improving living conditions in the village, including health and education.
Since helping to establish the Rugerero Survivors Village Sunflower Oil Cooperative in 2008, near the western Rwandan village of Gisenyi, the ex;it Foundation and its founder, Alan Jacobson, continue to support the cooperative in promoting the sales of its locally produced cooking oil.
The foundation has worked with 50 Rwandan genocide survivors to create this rare opportunity for income-producing activities, with the goal of improving living conditions in the village, including health and education.
Graphic Design students from Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, ex;it Foundation
To develop a compelling environmental identity for the Theatre and Auditorium of Poitiers, France (TAP), P-06 Atelier approached color, corporate identity, and wayfinding simultaneously.
Where am I? What can I do here? Where can I go from here? Consciously or not, we ask such questions every day as we navigate the places and spaces of our lives. Whether we find ourselves in a museum, hospital, train station, park, or street in an unfamiliar city, we depend on systems of visual, audible, and tactile cues not only to lead the way, but also to keep us safe. They are the fundamental questions of wayfinding—a process that encompasses both the experience of choosing a path within a built environment and the set of design elements that aid in such a decision.
Hundreds of thousands of people visit Times Square every day, taking photos of themselves in one of the greatest landmarks in the world. And countless numbers of people come to New York to become famous and leave their mark. With those insights, American Eagle Outfitters created a one-of-a-kind experience for customers at their flagship store in Times Square. They asked R/GA to create an engaging retail experience that would be unique in the Times Square environment and specific to their audience.
