Combing the Earth Museum Exhibit
The final project for a Parsons Summer Intensive = Constructed Environments course was to design a museum exhibit centered around an object for an existing space in New York City. I created my exhibit on plastic combs, with the goal that visitors would be educated on the lifecycle of plastic combs and the environmental harm of plastic waste. The exhibit featured displays on the process of manufacturing combs, the life-cycle of combs, and sustainable alternatives to plastic combs.
Time: 4 weeks, July 2021
Role: Sole designer
Tools: Photoshop, Procreate, Watercolors, Hand-drafting, Chipboard
This is the 3D one-eigth scale chipboard model that I made to represent the flow through the exhibit. I designed the exhibit to have comb-like walls, with the intention that the sunlight through the windows would create comb shadows on the floor. I photographed the model at different times of day to experiment with what the various shadows would look like.
I started with concept models to get familiar with chipboard because I had never used it before, and I discovered the flexibility of chipboard and how I could make organic forms, which I carried through in the final design. I then researched the existing site, focusing on trees, animals, zoning, and transportation routes. Since my exhibit was focused on sustainability, I wanted the exhibit itself to seamlessly integrate into the city environment. For example, I studied the local trees that I wanted to represent inside the museum. Next I brainstormed floor plans, taking into account natural lighting and existing columns in the space.