PROJECT PROFILE

Chr is Au

604 961 3472

Chr is .Au@DidaxDes ign .com

vA

Page 1

Feeding the World ExhibitC L I E N T The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources plays a leadership role in

education and research for ensuring a healthful and sustainable global food supply.

P R O J E C T The university developed the Rayner Dairy Research and Teaching Facility to house over 100 lactating cows and to provide teaching and demonstration areas, for research and development. It also comprises visitor-accessible overhead barn walkways, and interpretive exhibits. The title of the exhibit reflects the overarching theme: Feeding the World.

Panther Creative was awarded this contract to plan, design, fabricate, and install the 200 sm exhibit with Chris Au as the project manager and design director.

OBJECTIVE The exhibits augment and support the facility’s goals of providing: • training in agriculture, veterinary medicine, and other post-secondary technical education and skills; • resources for Canadian and international graduate student research; • R&D and technology transfer to industry for green and sustainable technologies.

A U D I E N C E The constituency comprises university faculty, staff and students, K–12 school groups, industry stakeholders, funding benefactors, professional/business community, regional/national/global governments and colleagues.

The presentations included both

static and interactive (mechanical

and computer) exhibits, as well as AV

videos. The displays share a common

visual and physical vocabulary that

reflects the agricultural setting of

the facility. The structural support

of the displays comprise galvanized

steel pipes with industrial connectors

and clamps. As a counterpoint, the

graphics and other display elements

are highly finished and state-of-art.

If you care at all

about the future of

the world’s food

supply, you care—

whether you know

it or not—about

Saskatchewan.

PROJECT PROFILE

Chr is Au

604 961 3472

Chr is .Au@DidaxDes ign .com

vA

Page 2

Feeding the World Exhibit

C H A L L E N G E S Although the client group from the university was very enthusiastic, this was a new endeavour for them. We worked with them to define their messages and set realistic goals based on the available budget and spatial concerns. The building was already under construction when we came aboard so we worked collaboratively with the base building designers and contractors to ensure that the physical facility met exhibitry needs for power/data, HVAC, lighting, traffic flow, space allocation, and finishing. Some of the critical client team members also held academic and teaching responsibilities around which we scheduled our development process.

A P P R O A C H The overall tone of the exhibit was :

• sophisticated but not slick;

• fun but not overly whimsical;

• friendly but not folksy;

• agricultural but not rustic.

• Planning – Start-up site meeting – Client /stakeholders workshop

• Design – Concept – Schematic – Development – Production

• Production – Pre-production planning – Fabrication/construction/printing/production – Shipping and Installation

• Close-out – Exhibit Manual

Towards that end we developed a common visual vocabulary that included the use of galvanized steel pipes as structural supports for exhibitry components. This versatile building material is used in agricultural environments—interior and exterior—throughout the world. We adapted staging and theatrical fittings to extend the versatility of this approach.

M E T H O D O L O G Y The phases and stages included:

Within each of the phases we developed the exhibit components in parallel:

• Interpretive themes, subthemes, messages;

• Space planning and architectural/engineering requirements;

• Exhibitry (including interactives);

• Graphics (texts and images);

• AV/computer media.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture

Western Economic SaskMilk

Moody’s Equipment

SaskCanolaNew Holland Agriculture

National Bank

BMO Financial Group

Agrifoods International Cooperative

SaskFlax

Farm Credit Canada RBC Royal Bank Seed Hawk

The Rayner Dairy Research

and Teaching Facility and

its interpretive galleries were

made possible through the

generosity of the following

organizations, corporations

and individuals, as well as

those donors preferring

The University of

for her contribution, and for

her insight into the principles

of outreach and education

which guided her father and

inspired the development

This donor panel recognizes contributions made until September 1, 2013.

$1,000,000 +

$250,000 –

$50,001

Up to $25,000

$50,000 –

$25,001