Autodesk Gallery 2.0

NGX reached out to us and presented us with an opportunity to partner with them on a project for Autodesk at their headquarters in San Francisco. They had a concept design in hand and needed help to bring it through final design.

The Autodesk Gallery 2.0, as it was called, gives the team at Autodesk a space to showcase some of the coolest and most innovative projects that their software was enabling. These included projects at the cutting edge of technology across the construction, architecture, product, fabrication, entertainment, and transportation industries.

I was given the opportunity to work on an all–new signature exhibit for the California Museum in Sacramento that explores the history of Chinese Americans in California from the Gold Rush to the present day.

“Gold Mountain: Chinese California Stories” tells the story of Chinese immigrants over the past 150 years. In their stories, visitors see the contribution that Californians of Chinese descent have made to the state’s economy, governance, and culture; all while triumphing over racism and other obstacles with ingenuity and perseverance.

Role

Lead 3D Designer + Director of Design

Employer

West Office Exhibition Design

Client

Autodesk, San Francisco CA

Team Members

Steve Wiersema (Principal at West Office)
Ozan Sirvanlioglu (3D Designer)
NGX (Content & Media Developer)

Duration

5 Months

Size

5,500 sq. ft.

Photos

Photos courtesy of Autodesk.

While the gallery was design in a way to allow a linear narrative to be told, each exhibit element was conceived in a way that would allow the information to be conveyed from multiple sides. This created an open-ended experience that didn’t confine the visitors to a single path.

Through this interactive multiplayer experience, visitors can try their hand at designing the communities of the future.

An AR experience, enabled by tablets, shows the different factors that contribute to the superiority of the rear fork created using generative design vs. traditional methods. The exhibit showcases how the use of Autodesk software contributed to the engineering solution used on the Lightning LS-218.

Visitors can take a close look at a prototype lander created by the JPL to test lightweight designs for future spacecraft. Here visitors can learn about the new methods used to create the robots that will open the solar system to us.

Process

The first step in our process was to conduct a detailed site survey and take photos, measurements, and get familiar with the architectural upgrades that were already underway within the space. It was important to make sure that all the elements work together and that at the end of the process we were left with a space that looked consistent and not piecemealed together.

The next step was to examine the materials specified in the concept phase and evaluated them based on look, functionality, durability, and adherence to the brand guidelines. Based on this, we updated the material board to more closely reflect the desired atmosphere of the space. We relied heavily on dozens of renderings to compare different material combinations to zero in on the best solution.

At the same time, we were exploring different options for the forms that we would use on the tables. We started out by trying to stick close to the original concept design, however we soon realized that the forms were too visually heavy and overpowered the artifacts. After the new brand guidelines were shared with us, we felt like we should go in a new direction in order to make the artifacts pop.

Once the final materials were more or less established and we had the updated branding information in hand, we started laying out the graphic templets for the different graphic types. After a few rounds of reviews, we ended up with a design that stayed true to the brand but at the same time allowed for enough flexibility to enable us to address the different needs of all the displays within the gallery.