Xibitz, Author at Xibitz

University of Michigan

Natural History Museum

Ann Arbor, MI

The new Museum of Natural History moved from the 90-year old Ruthven Museum Building into a modern seven-story Biological Science Building designed by architects Ennead and SmithGroupJJR. The 300,000 square foot building also will be home to the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. In addition to natural history exhibits incorporating a wide array of modern exhibit techniques, visitors will experience a state-of-the-art Digital Dome Theater with Planetarium, high-definition video and audio presentations. University faculty and students are playing significant roles in the conceptual development of the exhibits.

The planning, design, fabrication and installation of the new Museum exhibits is a joint venture of Lord Cultural Resources, Xibitz and Taylor Studios under the name of Great Plains Exhibit Development Joint Venture. This is the second prestigious project for the Joint Venture, having completed 33,000 square feet of new exhibits in 2014 for the State Museum of North Dakota.

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum

by Xibitz Museum

Grand Rapids, MI

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum received an 8,000-square-foot addition and new permanent exhibits as part of a $15 million project completed in May 2016. In July of 2015 Xibitz was awarded the contract to manage, produce and install the exhibits as designed by Gallagher & Associates, an interpretive planning and museum design firm located outside of Washington D.C.

This new permanent exhibit provides visitors with the opportunity to experience President Ford and the First Lady’s lives, careers, and legacies. Xibitz worked closely with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to properly showcase and preserve more of the museum’s permanent collections and archival holdings. While engaged in this work, Xibitz coordinated with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, Gallagher & Associates, Museum Director and Staff, and Construction Project Manager.

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Universities Space Research Association

by Xibitz Higher Education

Headquarters Interactive Lobby Exhibit

Columbia, MD

Crossing the threshold of the new headquarters of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), you get the sense of entering another dimension. Highly reflective surfaces like black glass, automobile-finish white panels and glossy grey floors create a feel of expansiveness and depth, echoing the infinite breadth of the galaxies.

To articulate and implement the design intent for the introductory exhibit, Hickok Cole brought in Xibitz. From design refinement, to shop drawings and production, to installation, the Xibitz team delivered a highly refined and sophisticated display that mimics the tight tolerances and crisp design of spacecraft. A closer look at the exhibit reveals free-standing walls describing each of the USRA-related disciplines, including planetary science, earth science and space nuclear power. The display walls feature touch screen monitors; backlit graphics; and artifact cases with specimens like moon rocks and meteors, and sophisticated observation equipment like x-ray and parabolic mirrors.

Lippert Components

by Xibitz Corporate

Corporate Offices

LCI desired one of a kind, experiential displays to communicate their history and company values to employees and visitors within their new corporate office. Xibitz presented a turnkey proposal that included the design fee for HOK as well as the fabrication and installation of displays for the office space. The project was completed in concert with Tango Design and Majority.

Xibitz was the lead on the turnkey, design-build project and oversaw the contract management and overall project from design to installation. The teams worked together to provide design solutions and innovative display methodology including dynamic edge-lit and backlit direct printed graphics applied to glass and mounted in a shiplap style through a long hallway in the new office space. The graphics were various photos of Lippert parts on different types of vehicles starting on the East Coast and ending on the West Coast.

General Electric

by Xibitz Corporate

GE Innovation Centre

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The first of its kind for GE in North America, the GE Innovation Centre in Calgary leverages the company’s global expertise, industrial breadth, and technology to address challenges across the energy, healthcare, transportation and finance sectors.

To provide workspaces with access to state-of-the-art technology, focused on commercial innovation, GE asked Hornall Anderson to craft a narrative framework and experience strategy that would inform the Centre’s design and operationalization. The result was a plan filled with cutting-edge digital tools to facilitate energy-industry-redefining collaboration.

Once the vision was solidified, Hornall Anderson worked with Gensler architects through the design of the space and collaborated with Xibitz on crafting all the major environmental interactive installations and content experiences. Specifically, Xibitz produced and installed design elements and environmental graphics with rich design aesthetics and high-end materials – including The Voices of Canada Interactive Display Table which integrates three 32-inch touch screens.

Perlan Museum Wonders of Iceland

by Xibitz Museum

Reykjavik, Iceland

In 2016, Xibitz and Lord Cultural Resources were invited by Bowen Technovation to be a part of an international team tasked with re-imagining the iconic Perlan Museum in Reykjavik, which included a large-scale exhibition fabrication. Perlan has been transformed into an interactive and eye-catching museum, where tourists and fellow Icelanders are able to explore the unique natural history of Iceland, in addition to enjoying the wonderful architecture of the Perlan itself. Our exhibition work was undertaken in two phases.

The 1st phase of the exhibit fabrication explores one of the most iconic features of Iceland — the nature of glaciers. A highly realistic replicated ice cave educates visitors on the dangers and secrets of Iceland’s glaciers, and how the disappearance of these vast bodies of ice is leading to enormous change both on the island and around the world. Other custom exhibits wow visitors with a 360-degree view atop Vatnajökull, the unusual life forms that live on it, its effect on the land, and what will happen if, or when, it disappears.

The 2nd phase explores Iceland’s ocean, coast, and land environments. Visitors can learn about their favorite aquatic fauna without having to get wet in a large, virtual fish tank. Experience an enormous lifelike replica of Látrabjarg, the site of one of the largest bird colonies on Earth. Or follow the 64 million years of geologic history and discover how volcanoes, earthquakes, plate tectonics, and geothermal activity continue to create one of the most unique environmental stories on the planet.

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New York University

by Xibitz Higher Education

Department of Social and Cultural Analysis

New York, NY

NYU’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis houses the activities of six diverse yet converging programs that seek ways to connect intellectual inquiry with lived experience. So when students and faculty needed a new space designed it called for a novel approach. The design by Lewis Architects locates faculty offices at the perimeter of the space, yet carves away the offices at strategic locations.

Supporting this plan, Xibitz worked under the guidance of graphics consultant Design360 to ensure this would be no ordinary academic setting. Among the Xibitz contributions are environmental graphics in many forms. Brightly colored, custom-fabricated acrylic boxes are inserted through the walls between the offices and corridors, text along the conference and meeting rooms is vinyl on glass but becomes 3-D as it spills over the sill. Printed 3-Form panels slide along a track to separate conference and common rooms as desired.

The overall result: A Best of Year Merit Award, Educational, from Interior Design.

University of North Texas

by Xibitz Higher Education

University Union

Denton, TX

Brand elements were designed, produced and installed over 3 floors of the Union building and consist of various graphics that combine materials such as direct printed custom wallpaper, cut vinyl, 3-Dimensional graphic boxes, and 3-Dimensional text. World Map display is formed with hundreds of 1/2” custom, brand-colored pegs. History moments are depicted on direct printed stainless steel text and combine push through dimensional text to create a dynamic display. The showcase of the project is the Hanging Sculpture that dimensionally communicates the core values of the university in a cascading letter sculpture. The 20’ long, 6’ deep, 14’ high sculpture begins at the ceiling line of the third floor and finishes below the ceiling line on the second floor. 12,000 individual 1/2” and 3/4” thick acrylic letters are suspended from the ceiling on over 1500 1/32” diameter stainless steel cables. The letters are attached with hidden crimps and are installed sparsely at the top of the sculpture, appearing to fall from the ceiling, coming together in greater density at the bottom to form words.

Colorado State University

by Xibitz Higher Education

Lory Student Center

Fort Collins, CO

The Lory Student Center is a community gathering place for everyone on the Colorado State University (CSU) campus, including students, faculty, staff, and visitors. After 50 years and 20,000 people a day, it was time to renovate the Lory Student Center inside and out. In the course of the renovation, Perkins&Will and its Branded Environments team identified 11 key “brand story” elements that convey the Center’s history, provide opportunities for donor and other recognition, and capture the spirit and unique essence of CSU. Xibitz captured this framework. The University prioritized project expenditures and enabled the development of fundraising tools. The approach also resulted in a flexible master plan for the initial project installation and a roadmap for adding elements in the future. The ensuing design by Perkins & Will turns the University’s emblems and team colors into a vibrant source of energy that permeates the Center.

Check out this time-lapse video of the hanging sculptures’ installation created by Colorado State University!

Wake Forest School of Medicine

by Xibitz Higher Education

Deacon Gallery Welcome Center

Winton-Salem, NC

The Deacon Gallery celebrates alumni, staff, students, donors, and the history of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine – serving as the epicenter for alumni programs, tours of the school, and meeting place.

Xibitz assembled a team of Peter Hyde Design, Angle Park (interactive media), Fleming Museum Consulting (interpretive plan and exhibit script) for the exhibit design, fabrication, and installation. Visitors are drawn to and engaged with, curving walls of graphics, artifact cases, and oversized touch monitors with custom “apps” to deep-dive into WFSOM stories. Other design/build elements included room-naming donor plaques and a dimensional lenticular wall linking the “Education” and “Research” areas of the campus.

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