concept study: exhbition spaces for miami outdoor art fair
exhibition and environmental design projects
through her exhibition and environmental design projects, cia seeks to ignite the curiosity in others. she has master-planned and designed award-winning exhibitions for science, technology, history, and children’s museums in the u.s. and beijing, china. she has created compelling narratives and environments to spark the market launch of new products for manufacturers and businesses.
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• science discovery museum in acton, ma
• aerospace museum, los angeles, ca, with wetzel assoc
• maritime aquarium, norwalk, ct, with wetzel assoc.
• charleston aquarium competition with wetzel assoc.
• motorola museum of electronics in schaumburg, il
• motorola skyway at the epcot center, innovations, orlando, fl
• motorola museum, beijing, china
• imaginarium museum, ft. myers, fl
• big band hall of fame, palm beach, fl
• schoolhouse children’s museum, boynton, fl
• mutter museum of anatomy with krent-paffett assoc., philadelphia, pa.
• miami children’s museum, miami, fl, a museum without walls
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• tonelli stand, milan triennale, milian, italy, with isao hosoe
• rowes wharf, the beacon companies, boston, ma / ben olson architect
• tostem window exhibition, tokyo, japan, with sottsass associati
• steelcase design partnership showroom, merchandise mart, chicago, il
• watson showroom, merchandise mart, chicago, il
• miami outdoor art fair, concept studies, miami, fl
project list
“cia is a wise, inventive, and generous human being. she helped me bring the science discovery museum and the creation of the glorious, magically unique exhibits to life. i owe cia everything, as do seven million children of all ages who’ve been through our doors.”
— donald verger, founder & president emeritus, the science discovery museums, acton, ma
exhibition design
science discovery museum acton, massachusetts
collaborator: don verger, museum founder & director architect: e. verner johnson & assoc.
as the museum’s design consultant, cia planned, designed, and oversaw the fabrication of the inaugural exhibits for a new children’s science museum outside boston. applying principles from the exploratorium cookbook series and original ideas, the museum quickly became a favorite destination for families and schoolchildren. the exhibits cover the earth sciences, mathematics, physics, sound, light, color, and art. our exhibit system was simply made using locally sourced hard maple and an off-the-shelf tubular leg. alvar aalto’s e60 stool was chosen as a child-friendly seat and table. all exhibits were fabricated by local artisans and artists.
2023 Finalist, national medal for museum service
miami children’s museum miami, florida
collaborators: barbara zohlman, museum director, and museum staff
cia frequently collaborated with the miami children’s museum during its early days. the start-up museum was located in an old shopping mall, a temporary home while fundraising was underway for a new building. for a small exhibit on the principles of art, cia handpainted the exhibit space and designed the hands-on displays to meet the learning objectives for children, ages 4-8. the space was anchored by a crescent-shaped mobile (center) provided by the noted brazilian artist and miami resident, romero britto.
traveling exhibit system for miami children’s museum
aerospace museum cmsi, los angeles, ca
exhibit design firm: wetzel associates, boston, ma architect: frank o. gehry associates, venice, ca
the aerospace museum in los angeles was frank gehry’s first museum. designed as a building of complex intersecting volumes, the construction was in its final year when our exhibit design firm in boston was awarded the contract. at a breakneck pace, we began the story. our team led visitors on an immersive experience starting with the beginning of the universe, the big bang, and into the cutting-edge ways that space telescopes and satellites were expanding our knowledge of outer space. collaborating with M.I.t. engineers and california’s aerospace companies, live links to satellites became one of the first uses of interactive multimedia in museums. our science-based exhibits covered the fundamental physics of flight and space travel. overhead, aircraft and spacecraft donated by the smithsonian connected the visitor journey to the history of manned and unmanned space flight.
as the firm’s lead project designer, cia oversaw the exhibit design team, fabrication, and installation for the sixteen-thousand-square-foot museum.
motorola skyway the epcot center, orlando, fl
collaborators: luis gonzalez, arthur stott
attended by over sixteen million people each year, the epcot innoventions center reveals emerging technologies to the public. for motorola, a leader in the field of telecommunications, we applied interactive media and immersive virtual reality experiences to engage epcot visitors with the corporation’s new breakthroughs in wireless technology. the space is framed by large silver columns supporting an array of special effects overhead connected to the exhibit theme of an information skyway. cia enjoyed a decade-long consulting relationship with motorola designing exhibitions for the corporation’s primary museums in schaumburg, illinois, and beijing, china.
environments
steelcase/sdp furniture showroom merchandise mart, chicago, il
collaborator: robert leonetti
the manufacturer’s furniture showroom is painted in a dark warm gray, providing a high-contrast backdrop for the launch of a new line of craft-forward furniture for the workplace. the five thousand square foot space incorporates glowing “rooms” framed in wood with mylar sheeting for focused visitor engagements. large black-and-white photographs of the furniture designers celebrate their contribution. the launch was the neocon editor’s choice winner, a neocon gold winner, and widely published for advancing furniture craft.
steelcase/sdp furniture showroom merchandise mart, chicago, il
collaborator: robert leonetti
the manufacturer’s showroom space is painted white with subdued accents of a nordic blue. large platforms segment the storytelling to guide the visitor flow. silhouettes of iconic furniture by hans wegner, finn juhl, and laurinda spear create the backdrop to reinforce the beauty of the collection’s organic forms. cia served as vp of product development and launch for the steelcase design partnership company guiding new product designs and their market introduction.
tostem windows showroom toyko, japan
collaborators: ettore sottsass and marco susani sottsass associati, milan, italy
to support the launch of a new line of architectural windows designed by the sottsass studio for the japanese manufacturer, tostem, cia designed a cluster of small houses. the buildings sat upon an elevated platform arrayed around a small park-like setting. the temporary display was crafted in japan by local artisans using thin wood framing covered in paper, then handpainted inside and out.