Disney Family Museum

The Walt Disney Family Museum is an institution honoring Walt Disney, the man who raised animation to an art, tirelessly pursued innovation, and created a distinctly American legacy that transformed the entertainment world. Located in the scenic Presidio of San Francisco, the museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that features contemporary, interactive galleries with state-of-the-art exhibits narrated in Walt’s own voice alongside early drawings, cartoons, films, music, a spectacular model of Disneyland, and more. Mariano Desmaras was head exhibit designer at the Rockwell group for the design of the this museum. He lead this effort for a design team without prior exhibit design experience.

Family enjoying exhibit

Immersive Design Each gallery was designed around a Big Idea. In the Postwar Rebuilding gallery (left) an undulating soffit in the shape of a film strip envelops the visitor in a 3D cinematic experience. 3D video mapping was used to project on the curved surface.

museum design Walt Disney Family Museum

Interior Design
Custom designed wall paper and tin ceiling create an interior evocative of the early 20th century. 

Designing Surprise Disneyland is designed around curved paths to reveal something new to the visitor as they progress through the park. We employed the same strategy at the museum carefully planning sightlines to unveil the next Wow. 

Protecting the Collection 
Micro-climate cases were used to protect the invaluable collections of artifacts.

Museum Design
Each gallery room was an environment on to itself. The style and content were chapters in the incredible life of Walt Disney. 

Architecture Exhibit at the Boston Public Library

In partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Boston Public Library presented a major gallery exhibition, tours, lectures, and an interactive website dedicated to highlighting Guastavino’s work. The exhibit Places for the People was displayed in a beautiful vaulted room at the Boston Public Library designed and built by the Guastavino Company. The exhibition included historic drawings, photographs, and objects, along with new photographs by London photographer Michael Freeman to help make the art, engineering, and the immigrant story relevant for audiences of today.

The exhibition traveled to numerous location and often to buildings that included Guastavino vaulting. The exhibit design was design as an architectural experience that include artifacts, video projections, and an actual tile construction of the vault.

Title panel for the Guastavino Exhibition

An Immigrants Story: “Palaces for the People is not just about architecture it also tells the story of the Guastavino family and their enormous contributions to American architecture, art, and construction. Their company was launched with the construction of the Boston Public Library 120 years ago, so it is fitting to inaugurate the traveling exhibit at the site or their beginnings. 

Graphic design for Guastavino Exhibition

Graphic Design for Architecture Exhibit: The image/text panels were designed with an arched form to echo the shape of the Guastavino vaults in the room. The large scale of images is also critical to creating an environmental effect.  

Vault construction

Architectural Experience: One of the highlights of Palaces for the People was the construction of a scale model of a Boston Public Library ceiling vault. Students from MIT and experienced masons from the Boston area built vault allowing for visitors to see the layers of this form of arch tectonics. 

Overhead graphics

3-Dimensional Experience: Overhead graphics call attention to the Guastavino ceiling above and also provide examples of their work from other buildings in the area. 

Credits: The curatorial team included Janet Parks, Curator of Drawings and Archives, Avery Library; Professor Richard Wilson, University of Virginia; Professor Christopher Capozzola, MIT; and Chrysanthe B. Broikos, curator, the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C..

Press Review

NPR: https://www.npr.org/2013/04/29/179255482/how-one-family-built-americas-public-palaces

New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/nyregion/with-vaults-and-domes-two-architects-helped-shape-new-york-citys-look.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=B8086821098739811D4B134A5D23A212&gwt=pay

Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/exhibit-explores-gustavino-familys-structural-tile-technique/2013/08/21/d1945848-0393-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html?utm_term=.c9f803180555

Black Mountain News, NC: http://www.blackmountainnews.com/story/entertainment/events/2017/11/01/guastavino-jr-hardly-standing-his-fathers-shadow/791301001/

Indiana State Museum

A local museum with a global perspective that inspires their audience with exhibits that are provocative, enjoyable and beneficial. This project was designed with Ralph Applebaum Associates. 

ME Museum Exhibit Design 20ME Museum Exhibit Design 19ME Museum Exhibit Design 18

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