LaBella Associates | Utica Discovery Center | New York Power Authority
2017 - 2019
The Utica Discovery Center project was a new-build full-service LaBella project in Utica, New York for the New York Power Authority (NYPA.) The project included site-work, and a new building for educational exhibits, multi-purpose room for events, a theater, office spaces, meeting rooms, and a new ticketing booth for the Utica Zoo, as the site would include a new entrance to the zoo. LaBella would partner with an Exhibit Designer and an MWBE Interior Designer, whom I collaborated with for the duration of the project, tag-teaming the interior design, drafting, specifications, furniture selection, and construction administration work.
Inspiration
Inspirational images were gathered based on 3 distinct themes that were presented by the Exhibit Designer. These themes, for the client to choose from, were "Futuristic", "Playful Color", and "Tree House". The client ended up selecting the "Playful Color" theme for this project, although some ideas generated from the other two themes were implemented into the final interior and exhibit designs.
Conceptualization
Once the theme was selected, I created a couple of concept renderings, a floor plan, and an RCP, to start illustrating a starting point for the design work for the lobby. With the lobby designed to be a two-story space with clerestory windows, I wanted to play with light and color, so abstract acrylic panels would be suspended from the ceiling. With the proximity to the zoo, and its emphasis on the natural environment, I played with moss panels mounted to the walls periodically "popping" through large format Laminam panels. Sweeping forms in the floor would flow through the space, guiding families to specific areas of interest, such as the entrance to the theater and exhibit space.
Design Development
As we moved through the design process, I had to create a full 3D model of the building in SketchUp, from which I produced several renderings, illustrating the design intent for almost every space in the Discovery Center, the only major exception being the exhibit space, which would be handled by the Exhibit Designer. This would be the first project I would ever use the SketchUp plug-in Enscape for, to produce more photo-realistic renderings.
Alternate Feature Wall Options
Although myself and my co-designer did like our initial concept for the feature wall, eventually the client would request a couple other options. These alternate options would implement more areas for digital features, as opposed to the moss wall we were originally showing. The request for a faux "power tower" added to the scope, and so we did our best to fit the piece in the space without over-crowding the reception.
Finish Boards
Once the final pallet was approved for the building by the client, I created three 24 x 36 inch finish boards that would be presented to the client for them to reference during the construction phase of the project. These boards would include an occasional rendering, images of finishes, and physical finishes, such as carpet or upholstery.
Custom Wall Coverings
Several custom digital wall coverings were called for in this project, with one in the basement corridor to highlight the multi-purpose room, later named the Innovation Center, two in the Innovation Center itself, and one in the large conference room. While most of those wall coverings would be covered by the Client's internal marketing department, I developed the concept for the Innovation Center corridor wall covering.
Initial Concept for the Innovation Center Wall Covering
Final rendition of the Innovation Center wall covering, with the background image provided by the client.
A special custom wall covering was designed for the back wall of the Utica Zoo Ticket Booth space, but was never implemented in the final documentation for the building. This wall covering featured hand-drawn animals featured in the Utica Zoo, and converted to vectors for scalability in Adobe Illustrator.
The Final Result
After 3 years of work from design to construction, the NYPA Utica Discover Center, now the John S. Dyson New York Energy Zone opened in Utica, New York. Overall the design changed minimally, with the largest change being to the feature wall in the main lobby behind the desk and the removal of the moss art panels from the lobby walls.
