StudioNews Spring 2023

The new Child Life Zone—Chicago Scenic’s third of these unique venues—is a therapeutic play, game, and relaxation area on the hospital’s 8^th floor for children and teens (ages 2 thru 17) on extended hospital stays.

Chicago Scenic provided design support, fabrication, and installation on the project while once again teaming with Christopher Molinsky, principal and design consultant with Vertical LLC.

Each Child Life Zone is designed to incorporate significant elements that reflect the surrounding environment: visitors to this Zone are met with bright primary colors that are so prevalent in the area.

The DiMaggio Children’s Hospital venue is a 2,500 sq. ft. space and features an 11-ft. tall Everglades tree. “The Chicago Scenic carpentry team fabricated the tree and its 16-ft.-wide green canopy from wood and acrylic; finding the hanging orb lights that give life to the tree was one of our first and lingering challenges that the team met on this project,” says Jason Dornbush, the Chicago Scenic project manager.

“The tree was originally designed to be decorated with three times as many orb lights but due to ongoing Covid-related supply chain issues, just one-third of the lights we wanted were initially shipped,” Jason says. “While the team continued to search for additional lights throughout the project’s duration, we eventually learned that the original manufacturer was not making them anymore.”

Under the tree’s somewhat dimmer canopy, there are plenty of things to do: two interactives, one an activity table, the other a water table with interactive touch screen electronics are attached to the base of the tree; the water table’s interactive shows how water moves through soil. Bowen Technovation of Indiana provided the hardware and integration for this interactive. “They’ve been one of our consistent partners on developing these Zones from the very beginning”, Jason Dornbush added.

Another prominent interactive that draws visitors is the realistic DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Mobile Unit, probably because it’s a familiar sight in many neighborhoods around the area as the mobile units provide children with free services such as immunizations and vaccines, vision and hearing testing, and video telehealth connections.

The life-sized replica is a four-sided vehicle with an enlarged opening on the driver’s side to provide easy access to the Unit’s interior. Inside, visitors find simple interactives that provide information about a variety of medical topics, from anatomy charts to pulse measurement. Visitors can also activate realistic effects such as headlights and the emergency lights on the Mobile Unit’s roof.

According to Jason Dornbush: “Chicago Scenic’s carpenters used the shop’s CNC computerized equipment to precisely cut the Mobile Unit’s wooden profile, then transported that cut-out to graphics partner Color Images who printed and mounted the realistic exterior graphic onto the wooden shape. The result is a very realistic replica,”

Other interactives include two large hexagon shapes, one that serves as a popular Photo Pod and is large enough to fit several people inside. Patients and their families can use the mounted iPad camera to take photos and then immediately print copies at the printing station. The other hexagon shape is a relaxation station that’s perfect for visitors who want to take a quiet break.

The hexagons are made from natural wood and their interiors feature cushions made by Chicago Scenic’s Soft Goods department. The cushions are upholstered with Marmoleum, a hard covering known for its durability and permanent bacterial-repellant properties; the material is easy to clean and stands up to the strong cleaning agents used in hospitals. The cushions—covered in green, blue, purple—continue the venue’s brightly colored theme. Project partners Bowen Technovation and Media Dynamics worked on the photo booth’s interface software.

Another interactive—a simple row boat—is crafted from light wood veneer and plywood and offers another quiet place to rest. The boat is constructed with an open back to facilitate easy access, inside children can use the boat’s fishing poles and relax on the interior bench.

The space also features a video game area with custom cabinets—a favorite among older patients—and a Plinko game where players insert a coin into a slot at the top and watch as it takes a random path down through the game board until it shoots out the bottom.

Chicago Scenic’s team created a special video screen. “We worked with Bowen to find the best vinyl coatings to apply to the clear frosted glass screen,” said Jason Dornbush. “Now, an overhead projector projects videos onto the glass screen, and when it’s not in use, the glass is simply a nice interior touch.”

The Florida Child Life Zone opened in October 2022. Chicago Scenic and team members previously created Child Life Zones for the UCLA Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio https://www.chicagoscenic.com/blog/newsletter/fall-2021 .

The blog, NewtoReno, celebrated the opening of the new Energy/Energia exhibit gallery at the Reno Discovery Center with this line: “By featuring energy innovation happening right here in northern Nevada, visitors have the opportunity to explore foundational energy concepts, learn what it takes to solve energy challenges, and leave inspired to discover more.”

The team—led by project manager consultant Jill Randerson working with Chicago Scenic’s veteran, Jim Mallerdino—began collaborating in June 2021 to value-engineer the early design drawings, working through the details in order to fulfill the Center’s vision and still meet their budget parameters.

The new gallery is approximately 1,350 sq. ft. and is designed entirely around 18 interactives. The challenge of simple mechanical interactives is to keep them running smoothly despite constant visitor interaction of all ages and curiosity levels—and with a minimal amount of maintenance. “One of the best ways to build a reliable and repeatable interactive is to begin with prototypes,” Mallerdino said. “Early in the development process is the best time for us to test a variety of materials and fabrication methods; changes made during this stage can be done more cost-effectively than any other time in the process.”

One of the most exhibit’s most popular interactives is “Future City”, a game designed for two to four players by Martin Baumgartner, Angle Park’s founder and the creator of the game’s software and media. An overhead video camera projects a city map on the game board. The camera also projects various elements—a hydroelectric dam, power plant, solar farm, wind farm—and, according to Mallerdino, the game's objective is to balance the use of those energy types to create the most energy-efficient power usage possible.

As players move their Corian block game pieces around the board game, a reflector embedded in the game piece calculates the algorithms and determines in real-time how much energy is being consumed or saved, then notifies players when brownouts or blackouts are imminent.

The “Responsive Wall” interactive exhibit is located just outside the new Energy Gallery and acts as a colorful billboard to attract Center visitors. Sun ‘rays’ made from LED lights respond to visitors as they walk by and light up in an array of vibrant colors. In the center of the sun is a window portal through which visitors can preview the rest of the gallery space. Chicago Scenic programmed, wired and installed the LEDs for this exhibit.

“Crooke’s Radiometer” interactive, installed in a gallery window, features a series of radiometers—the clear objects hanging in rows in the window. As the sun increases the temperature, radiometers absorb more energy and that causes them to spin more rapidly. “It’s a simple but mesmerizing interactive exhibit that demonstrates the transfer of energy to motion and the power of sunlight,” added Mallerdino. Chicago Scenic developed, fabricated, and installed the interactive.

Picking the right partners is a critically important part of any project. “Angle Park, Inc., one of the interactive developers on this project, was invaluable,” Mallerdino said. “Their interactive exhibit development was as flawless as their reputation.” Other key partners were Color Reflections Las Vegas who printed and installed all graphics. IZONE printed the CHPL graphics that required the highest quality production and precise laminating; the Chicago Scenic production team installed the graphics.

The Energy/Energia exhibition was made possible by a generous grant from Tesla via the NDOE K-12 Education Fund. Why Tesla? Tesla has a major battery factory located in Reno: natural resource elements used in battery development exist in the land surrounding Reno. Those elements are mined locally, then efficiently transported to the Tesla factory nearby for use in battery production.

Want more information? Visit the Reno Discovery Center’s site here:

https://nvdm.org/exhibitions-and-events/permanent-exhibitions/energy-energia/

The result is a popular and entertaining experience that newly celebrates the history of the family-owned company, beginning with its first cannery opening in 1908.

JRA designed the Center’s interior to resemble a vintage store; large black and white “A.J. Bush & Co. General Merchandise” signs are affixed to the building exterior and the wrap-around porch welcomes visitors.

The Center’s interior features graphics and simple interactives designed to engage visitors of all ages as they learn a bit of company history and enjoy a behind-the-scenes video tour of the process. Visitors can also take a break in the Bush’s® Family Café, browse the gift shop, and enjoy some Southern hospitality.

Jim Mallerdino, senior project manager, and Jon Harvey, director of Production, collaborated on this project. “Wherever possible, the Bush family wanted to re-use original artifacts and materials in the reconstruction,” Harvey said. “To accomplish that, we re-worked 200-year-old timbers, manipulating them to seamlessly fit into the Center’s new design. We also incorporated a wooden mantelpiece – pulled out of an old barn—over the interior fireplace, and hung various family artifacts, many scoured from various Bush family homes, on the Center’s giant history wall.

“One of the more memorable things about this project was creating the giant, realistic bean can that became such an iconic part of the Center but presented an unusual set of challenges along the way. We built a wood frame to create the shape of the can, then bent ridged steel to surround the frame,” Harvey said, “but the screws used to attach the steel to the wood frame kept randomly popping out.”

“Then the edges of the steel didn’t lay flat, so we used a combination of grinding and applying three coats of Bondo, then sanding the exterior smooth using HEPA sanders before applying a vinyl graphic wrap. Applying the graphic wrap required a ‘cleanroom environment’ so we used pipe and drape and Visqueen to construct that environment onsite,” added Harvey.

The Chicago Scenic team also worked closely with interactive firm Hildebrand & Company to create the Bean Cleansing interactive which features color-coded balls that represent water and dirt. Visitors turn a crank that sends the balls up an auger chute until they reach the top and fall. The balls fall into different spaces, representing the separation process that occurs during bean cleansing. While the interactive appears simple and straightforward, it required prototypes and extensive testing to ensure that the final product was reliable and repeatable.

We also created the U.S. Bean Sourcing graphic—the 10-ft. by 30-ft. backdrop made of curved lumber and ¾" Sintra. The background graphic, provided and installed by graphics partner Moss, shows locations around the U.S. where the company sources its beans.

“Considering our location in the Tennessee hills”, Harvey said, “finding a good local labor source was a bit of a challenge until we found an IATSE Union chapter across the border in Abingdon, Virginia. “Those guys were the hardest workers, easygoing guys, great stagehands. They really understood when to play and when to work. I can’t say enough good things about working with that group,” he added.

Jon Harvey mentioned something else memorable from the project: eating great Southern meals in the Bush’s® Beans Café every day. “By the time I left, I knew every item on the menu, including the daily specials—country fried steak, catfish, the BBQ platter, and the famous Pinto Bean Pecan Pie. And, every day, lunch included a sample of ‘the bean of the day’”.

Visiting Tennessee soon? Add a stop at Bush’s® Beans Visitor Center to your road trip plans. Hours vary depending on the season, so call ahead, 865.509.3077, for the current schedule.

https://www.bushbeans.com/en_U...

Dark Testament, the museum’s most ambitious temporary exhibit (so far), features a timeline, interactives, and artwork in three gallery spaces. The exhibit explores racial injustice in America through the work of Black American writers from the end of the Civil War through the Civil Rights Movement. Dark Testament also features a gallery of original art commissioned specifically for the exhibit.

A bit of background: Chicago Scenic first collaborated with AWM in 2017—along with Boston’s Amaze Design—on a design-build project that launched the museum in 2017. From the very beginning, AWM administrators were committed to offering fresh content each year via a temporary exhibit space—and Chicago Scenic has been their partner in making that happen. Here’s a look at their latest collaboration:

The Meijer Gallery

The Dark Testament exhibits occupy three different areas, beginning with the Meijer Gallery exhibit near the Museum’s main entrance. Chicago Scenic created the timeline and introduction to key authors that runs along one side of the gallery.

Vertical columns separate distinct eras and provide a brief description of key events that place Black literature in context within each era. Just beyond each column are wall-mounted exhibits that highlight three authors from that time; books written by each author are displayed on a small wooden shelf, inviting guests to browse. Underneath the books are “flip” panels that can be lifted to reveal more detailed information about the author. The material is intentionally organized in layers like an outline, according to Chicago Scenic’s senior project manager Jim Mallerdino, so that guests can consume just the top layer of information, or dig deeper to satisfy their curiosity.

The other side of the gallery features 13 original artworks created by four contemporary artists. Chicago Scenic built the backwall and rail from which the art hangs, then installed each piece according to the graphic layout the design team provided. The bright colors energize the environment.

The Writers Gallery

Frequent visitors to AWM may recognize the Writers Room as a space that previously housed the “Tools of the Trade” (see blog post https://www.chicagoscenic.com/blog/american-writers-new-museum-exhibit-design-opens-june-22). Chicago Scenic built the modular maple bookcases found in this exhibit; they are similar to previous ones used in other exhibits and have become the standard for this and future exhibits.

“When we first began working with the museum staff and the Amaze design team, we talked a lot about phasing in new components,” Mallerdino added. “That was important so we could meet existing budget parameters, but we also knew that by using consistent design and materials, we could add complementary components over the years without significantly affecting the annual budget. That’s been just one of the benefits of working together for the past five years.”

While the cases are used as open bookcases, according to Mallerdino, they include a slot at the front where glass panels can be inserted, transforming the bookcases into secure artifact cases. At the back of these bookcases, color panels are inserted that complement the exhibit’s bright colors; the color of those panels can be easily changed or removed altogether to reveal the neutral maple back wall, adding to the design’s adaptability.

Visitors to the gallery will also find new video content displayed on four screens. Video content was provided by Trivium, an audio-visual partner we have worked with from AWM’s early days. The video appears as one image across all four screens and then dissolves into four separates images; its content shows how the words of Black writers bridge generations and connect past writers to current writers – many of whom are grappling with the same issues prevalent 150 years ago. Chicago Scenic’s team reinstalled the screens, speakers, and an acoustic tile baffle.

The Writers Room

This is the smallest space and exhibit in Dark Testament; it occupies the area that usually houses visiting author lectures. This exhibit is installed in the southwest corner of the room and features large graphic reproductions of Black newspaper coverage of significant historical events. We created the hanging graphic panels—and the steel and wood structure from which they hang. The graphic rails in front of the vertical panels contain more detailed information on the key historical events displayed above them.

Chicago Scenic’s Ben Morin worked as the project lead. Amaze Design created the exhibit design; Trivium and graphics partner Color Image were key partners.

The Museum Gallery, located at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY was envisioned by museum planners to be family-friendly and primarily serve student groups—elementary through high school—through an environment large enough to accommodate a teacher leading a student group through the exhibit and exploring its multiple interactive elements.

The Chicago Scenic team, led by Jason Ohlsen, vice president of operations (Florida) and project manager Sam Efman, first sat down with JRA designers and the Corvette Museum team in November 2022 to review the team’s vision and JRA’s early design renderings, and to build a budget that could accommodate them both.

The result is a 2500 sq. ft. environment that uses all available space—from walls to ceiling—while creating this imaginative walkable experience.

The story begins as visitors to the Gallery are met with a large, 8-ft. by 16-ft. photo mural of the original Corvette tech center in Detroit. “The Museum team originally had a different vision for the entry area that included recreating the iconic teacup desk found in the Tech Center,” Ohlsen said, “but fabricating that piece would have taken a huge chunk out of our budget. We spent many hours discussing ideas and alternatives and we eventually ended up with this mural; we all agree, it really works.”

One of the first interactives visitors meet is the big tactile wall that features a wide array of materials used to make a Corvette, including raw car parts, carbon fiber elements, seat belts, upholstery and dashboard leather strips, airbags, carpet swatches, even Corvette logos and taillights from 1980s models to current day.

“The Museum staff was hands-on with us the whole way—supplying artifacts, even full car consoles that we peeled leather from to include on this tactile wall,” Ohlsen added.

At the sketch table interactive, visitors use a pre-set tutorial to design their own Corvette. As designs are created, they can be projected onto a streetscape on the wall.

Visitors also find a refurbished rotating engine from a C8, and a display wall filled with Corvette gears. “There’s a whole wall of inspiration, full of the natural forms that together create the Corvette,” according to Sam Efman.

Ever mindful of the Gallery’s size constraints, the Museum and design team wanted to find a creative way to illustrate significant inspirations Detroit designers used to create their early Corvette models but not overwhelm the space. A few of those inspirations—a shark, stingray, and manta ray—are now suspended overhead; the forms inform visitors about a significant part of Corvette’s design history while maximizing available space.

This new Gallery space became available as a result of the Museum’s reconstruction following the February 12, 2014 when a sinkhole opened on the property and caused eight Corvettes to fall more than 30-feet into the resulting hole. All eight cars were recovered, restored, and the sinkhole was filled. (Visit the free 360-degree tour to learn more about the sinkhole event and subsequent building repair at www.corvettemuseum.com).

Following the Museum’s reconstruction, the Gallery sat empty temporarily. In November 2022, once the Museum team, JRA and Chicago Scenic began meeting to discuss the new Gallery project, however, things moved swiftly and the Gallery opened its doors to visitors in spring 2023.

Other key partners involved in the Gallery development include graphics firm Moss, and interactive firm Cortina who JRA enlisted to develop the sketch table interactive. Chicago Scenic’s Juan Arriaga was the shop lead and oversaw the 3-week installation; IATSE local laborers from Nashville comprised the onsite crew.

Team members agree that one of the project’s primary challenges—fitting a lot into a small space—was successfully solved through team collaboration and creative strategy. Since that process also produced additional interactive exhibit concepts that the team liked, a second phase to the Gallery development may be explored in the future, Jason added.