Museum News

Organized Space, The Forgotten Frontier
Bringing order to chaos through thoughtful design

by Jim Judson
Design Director
Innovations, Inc.
Shrewsbury, MA

Don't underestimate the power of a well-designed space. The Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center at Framingham State College in Massachusetts owes its success to a few notable factors: It is a well-conceived program that is presented beautifully by its dedicated staff. The subject matter is exciting and the children are, without exception, captivated by the experience. However, there were some "space" issues at the Center including a lackluster briefing room and entryway that left a less than stellar first impression on visitors. Thanks to a thoughtful update by Innovations, Inc., The Center now provides a cohesive experience from start to finish that not only runs more smoothly, but actually offers more richness for the students.

Reach For The Stars

Following the Challenger disaster in 1986, Framingham State College created the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence to recognize America's first teacher-astronaut and her commitment to teaching. The college was determined to honor the vision, values, ideas and life of alumna Christa McAuliffe. The Center is recognized as a world-class provider of professional development programs for K to 12 teachers.

The Center shares a dormitory building built in the early 1950's and, although its programs were highly regarded, the interior lacked any cohesiveness.

The visual disparity was seen most starkly when comparing the unadorned main desk area with the highly themed Mission Control room and the Space Station Module. It became clear to the Center that to fulfill its own mission, it would need to update.

Innovations, a producer of marketing environments, was selected to design and implement the necessary changes. Their proximity to the college and experience -- more than 30 years -- with interiors and other branded environments made them a logical choice. A critical factor for the Center was Innovations' ability to design, produce and install.

Objectives, Challenges And Opportunities

Because it was situated in an older campus building not purpose-built for the endeavor, the Center made due with a mostly unremarkable reception and orientation area that contrasted sharply with the beautifully detailed Mission Control and laboratory rooms. Two primary objectives of the update were to create better functionality in both of these areas and elevate the overall visual impression. Signage would also be redone to complement the new interior. A notable challenge was completing the entire job -- from teardown to installation -- during the summer break.

The entry area would require the bulk of the work. It had to function on several different levels. The reception desk was staffed during operating hours and needed to be somewhat shielded from the noise created by 35 young students rumbling into a modestly proportioned space. This shielding, however, must still allow for ventilation and communications. Obviously, the design would need to accommodate phone and Internet cables.
Also required in the front entry were storage areas for coats and backpacks, locking storage for visitors' valuables, locking displays for merchandise, locking displays for highly detailed models of the Challenger and the International Space Station, a large ID sign, and consideration for framed portraits of Christa McAuliffe and the entire Challenger crew.

The briefing room was the other major space slated for updating. In it one could see the same 1970's college dorm basement decor with a few additions. A presenter would stand behind a wooden podium and, accompanied by a projected image on a pull-down screen behind him, deliver the mission of the day. It certainly required a lot of imagination to picture oneself about to embark on a trip to outer space.

The last area Innovations needed to refresh was the "air-lock." This was essentially a labyrinth connecting the briefing room to the Space Station Module. The idea had initially been to present a transitional experience to get the students from the Earth to outer space. The treatments in this winding hallway were spattered fluorescent paints and a tired enlargement of the Earth as seen from space. It was this transitional area that provided the inspiration for what would turn out to be one of the most prominent features of the update.

"The transition theme was fun to explore and seemed like a great way to integrate the rest of the environment," says David Silva, designer, of the origins of the distinctive "gateways" now linking the three main rooms of the Center. "We found a rare opportunity to bring some unity to what was already there and at the same time introduce a fantastic theming element."

The gateways lead visitors from the entry to the briefing room and from the entry to Mission Control. Silva modeled them after the doorways seen in just about every sci-fi movie and television show ever created. A large, blue, faceted frame holds what appears to be the edges of two large gaskets covering the oversized serrations of very airtight-looking metal doors. The gaskets are actually black Corian from DuPont, selected for appearance and durability, and the metal doors are typical plywood set construction covered with aluminum laminate from WilsonArt, Temple, TX, stopping where they intersect the frames. Vinyl text on the lintel proclaims "Gateway to Space." On one gateway is a hand-shaped pad with a numeric keyboard, completing the illusion of a high-level operation.

Welcome to the 21st Century

The gateways set the aesthetic tone for the entire project. Each element was created to perform its required function but styled to maximize the visual effect. Capitalizing on the opportunity presented by the gateways, Silva designed an entry that not only provides every necessary level of functionality, but looks great doing it.

The design is pure space age. Once inside, the visitor first sees a floor-to-ceiling display case housing finely detailed models of both the International Space Station and the Challenger shuttle. These models sit behind large curved acrylic panels and are lit with built-in halogen fixtures from Light Craft, Fremont, OH. Beyond the display case is the desk. Curved blue spines support gently arcing acrylic windows above and chunky perforated aluminum panels from Perforated Metals Plus, Wyoming, PA, below a dark countertop. The acrylic keeps noise levels down while the perf allows for ventilation -- both very stylishly. The color palette is a rich blue (taken from the Center's logo), white, textured charcoal and aluminum. Large blue vinyl text on the back wall proudly identifies the Center along with Christa's NASA portrait. Acrylic panels, aluminum cabinet hardware from Gyford Productions, Reno, NV, and custom door appliques in 1/8" Corian and perforated aluminum add some distinctive finishing touches.

Students instantly realize they are entering a new environment -- a unique, exciting and important environment. "It's amazing. They used to take about ten minutes to settle down once they got here, but now they get quiet right away, the second they see this space!" said one Center staff member.

"You are leaving Earth's atmosphere

The transition theme of the airlock corridor was always an effective device. Even though the original mural treatment of the Earth seen from space had lost its freshness, the overall feeling was that of leaving one element and entering another. The fluorescent paint spatters on textured black walls were an unsuccessful attempt to depict passing stars and the traditional "can" lighting added nothing. "This was one of those good ideas that needed to be taken to that next level," says Silva.

With Ray Griffin, the Center's director, Silva developed the idea of a story, told through a sequence of three murals. They then commissioned an artist to execute the painting project, Chris Hicks, an illustrator in Providence, RI. The style Hicks employed for the murals is a satisfying blend of realism and graphic novel high drama. "The simple style is very accessible for the younger audience," says Silva, "without looking too much like a cartoon." And it tells the story beautifully.

The first view is of a shuttle launch. Great clouds of steam envelope the shuttle as it departs for its mission. Around a corner is the voyage mural, showing the shuttle in space leaving the Earth far behind. Finally, as we arrive at the airlock door, we see the space station extending out to either side as if we had just docked.

The lighting for this area needed to show off the gorgeous artwork but not overly brighten the otherwise dark space. The "can" lights were not adequate simply because too much of the light they provided went straight down to the floor. Designer Silva specified compact halogen track fixtures from Juno, Des Plaines, IL, installed with dimmers and occasional blue diffuser lenses and aimed these primarily at the walls. Perfect lighting was achieved by being able to control both the brightness and direction of the beam.

Honoring the Heros

With all of the functional details accounted for, the designer searched for a way to commemorate the individuals in an integral part of the interior. Using the Center's logo for inspiration, Silva decided to embed within the ceiling tiles seven shining stars -- one for each crew member. Standard acoustical tiles were modified using Innovations' Gerber Sabre 408 computer-controlled router. Beveled depressions were cut and then perfectly fitting aluminum stars, also cut on the CNC router, were cemented in place. The largest star also has a long comet's tail. This is Christa's star and, appropriately, leads the students through the Gateway to Space.

According to all who come in contact with the new interior -- students, staff and educators -- the transformation is astounding. No longer the basement of a college dormitory, the Center now has an appearance as superlative as its program and mission. For the students it is a fully immersive experience, made complete by design. eb