The historic Freedom Rides of 1961, which ended in violence at the Greyhound Bus Station in Montgomery, Ala., were a key event in the American Civil Rights Movement. As the first step in an eventual renovation of the station, the Alabama Historical Commission sought to memorialize the site and present it as a key historical artifact.
Ralph Appelbaum Associates was tasked with designing an exhibit for the exterior of the bus station. The design team’s goal was to bring the story to life for visitors, many of whom were not of age or even born when it occurred.
Frost* Design was one of five creative directors commissioned by the Australian Institute of Architects to curate the Australian exhibition for the 11th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale in September 2008. Held in the Australian Pavilion in the Giardini, the exhibition drew a huge audience including influential architects, industry specialists, and diverse audiences from around the world.
As technology advances, it is driving a convergence between different professions. Autodesk, a leading software developer in the design industry, needed to differentiate how it speaks to customers within various segments of design while still maintaining a consistent Autodesk voice.
The founder of Bridge & Tunnel Pizza is a former New Yorker who aspires to create a franchise out of his New York style pizza-by-the-slice restaurant. He asked Kuhlmann Leavitt to develop a brand identity and design the interior of his flagship restaurant in St. Louis.
The primary task of the Brooklyn Bridge Pedestrian Improvement project was to create a welcoming transition from the bridge’s pedestrian walkway to the surrounding Brooklyn neighborhoods and to encourage visitors to explore its shops, restaurants, and cultural institutions. The solution needed to be eye-catching, vandal resistant, and low maintenance. It also had to be respectful and minimally invasive to the historical landmark bridge.
Built in 1971, the Sciences Library at Brown University is the kind of building you see at a lot of colleges: big, bold, and modern, but not warm or comfortable—and not well loved by many people on campus. In 2006, Brown decided to convert the first three levels of the building into the Susan P. and Richard A. Friedman Study Center. Open 24 hours a day, the center offers a variety of spaces where students can work, gather, and collaborate.
Using up-to-the-minute film and printing technology and imagery that combines the traditions of murals, grotesques, and symbols, Katrin Olina created an immersive, otherworldly destination in Cristal Bar, a 1,200-sq.-ft. bar in a Hong Kong high-rise. Using 3M graphic film, The Icelandic designer covered every wall, ceiling, and floor surface in imagery, creating a huge, seamless painting that spans the bar’s four interconnected spaces.
The Dubai Mal is the new “world’s largest mall” in Dubai. The 12 million-sq.-ft. mall is located directly at the base of the Burj Dubai, which will be the world’s tallest tower when it opens in late 2009.
Fashion Avenue is the mall’s high-end fashion district and the atrium where it is located is a major intersection where fashion shows and multimedia events take center stage. The fashion catwalk literally rises out of the floor of the atrium.
E.ON, one of the largest energy companies in the world, needed a visitor center for its new power plant that would help visitors explore the role of energy in their lives, answer questions about different energy sources, and promote energy conservation. E.ON also wanted to encourage visitors’ feedback on local energy concerns and issues.
The project was to design the setting for Ecotopia: The Second ICP Triennial of Photography and Video, an exhibition showcasing contemporary views of the natural world in this current age of undeniable climatic change. The project had to be installed within two weeks on an extremely stringent budget, using mass production techniques accessible to a largely non-professional installation crew.
