Year: 2024 | Location: Quincy (MA), USA | Type: Public | Client: City of Quincy
In preparation of the 400 year anniversary of the settlement of the City of Quincy, InformationInAction carried out extensive stakeholder research, concept development, and designed the interior space, information design and holistic visitor experience for the City’s new Welcome Center.
The Welcome Center is located downtown along the City’s Hancock Adams Common and offers an engaging experience from the first step inside. Upon entering the space, visitors step right into the City, greeted by a walkable map of the entire City which covers all 900 square feet of floor and is the center piece of the space. Stepping into the new Welcome Center lets you quite literally walk across the entire City, exploring places of interest called out by labels. It provides an experiential way to understand the geographic context of the city, discover places of personal interest and gather a sense of proximity and direction in relation to the Welcome Center.
An Urban Experience also for Young Visitors
To greet and engage its youngest visitors, the Welcome Center hosts a wooden train landscape sporting miniature Quincy Center, Quincy Adams, and North Quincy train stations. Children can drive the trains through the Blue Hills or along Wollaston Beach. The back-lit photo wall welcomes visitors to some of the City’s main attractions and provides walking distances and references to the location on the city map.
Broadcasting the Inside Out
A series of digital screens arranged in the Center present curated information about the city’s past and present. The screens are arranged along the Center’s window front which allows even passersby to take a peak from the outside and discover something new about the city on their way to the Quincy Center red line station or during their urban stroll. The purpose of this arrangement is so that a simple glimpse from the outside can get people curious to enter the Center. The screens are lit and visible through the facade also during closing hours, turning the Center’s facade effectively in an always-on information surface for the City.
Connecting Themes
The aluminum chairs used in the center are the kind developed in 1944 and used on Navy Ships during World War II – ships such as the ones constructed at historic Fore River Shipyard. Stools around the video screen are shaped to resemble the rocky landscape of the Quincy Granite Quarries. The map covering the floor is positioned according to its real world orientation, helping visitors head right out to nearby sights. It calls out the City’s Presidents Trail, a 2.7 mile long urban walking trail that connects many of the City’s places of interest reachable by foot from the Welcome Center. A back-lit photo wall at the entrance introduces visitors to the City’s many sights and works together with matching place labels on the walkable floor map to form an outright treasure-hunt for young visitors that can quiz their local knowledge on a printed map in the Center space. Every element in the space affords active exploration, discovery, and connections within the space as well as with the city, its present and history.
Inclusive and Strategic Design Process
The redesign of the Welcome Center has been a team effort involving numerous departments and City staff during initial research as well as the iterative design process. Additionally, observational studies and conversations were carried out with Welcome Center staff to better understand needs and experiences with visitors. The redesign of the City of Quincy Welcome Center is an example of how designing for an engaging visitor experience today means more than designing a space, information displays, or furnishings. It is about an inclusive design process focused on how all these elements work together to facilitate a holistic experience that is enriching, satisfying, and memorable.
Concept Development
Team
Research, Concept, Design Information in Action
City of Quincy Team Bob Damon, Department of Historic and Heritage Resources Dagny Ashley, Department of Tourism Paul Hines, Department of Public Buildings Jacquelin Devin and Steven Washburn, GIS Team
Fabrication and Manufacturing Partners Jaywalk, Furniture and Media Panels Speedpro, Floor and Wall Prints Emeco, Furniture Leland, Furniture Camman Lighting, Lighting Reflex Lighting, Lighting
Year: 2024 | Location: Quincy (MA), USA | Type: Public | Client: City of Quincy
In preparation of the 400 year anniversary of the settlement of the City of Quincy, InformationInAction carried out extensive stakeholder research, concept development, and designed the interior space, information design and holistic visitor experience for the City’s new Welcome Center.
The Welcome Center is located downtown along the City’s Hancock Adams Common and offers an engaging experience from the first step inside. Upon entering the space, visitors step right into the City, greeted by a walkable map of the entire City which covers all 900 square feet of floor and is the center piece of the space. Stepping into the new Welcome Center lets you quite literally walk across the entire City, exploring places of interest called out by labels. It provides an experiential way to understand the geographic context of the city, discover places of personal interest and gather a sense of proximity and direction in relation to the Welcome Center.
An Urban Experience also for Young Visitors
To greet and engage its youngest visitors, the Welcome Center hosts a wooden train landscape sporting miniature Quincy Center, Quincy Adams, and North Quincy train stations. Children can drive the trains through the Blue Hills or along Wollaston Beach. The back-lit photo wall welcomes visitors to some of the City’s main attractions and provides walking distances and references to the location on the city map.
Broadcasting the Inside Out
A series of digital screens arranged in the Center present curated information about the city’s past and present. The screens are arranged along the Center’s window front which allows even passersby to take a peak from the outside and discover something new about the city on their way to the Quincy Center red line station or during their urban stroll. The purpose of this arrangement is so that a simple glimpse from the outside can get people curious to enter the Center. The screens are lit and visible through the facade also during closing hours, turning the Center’s facade effectively in an always-on information surface for the City.
Connecting Themes
The aluminum chairs used in the center are the kind developed in 1944 and used on Navy Ships during World War II – ships such as the ones constructed at historic Fore River Shipyard. Stools around the video screen are shaped to resemble the rocky landscape of the Quincy Granite Quarries. The map covering the floor is positioned according to its real world orientation, helping visitors head right out to nearby sights. It calls out the City’s Presidents Trail, a 2.7 mile long urban walking trail that connects many of the City’s places of interest reachable by foot from the Welcome Center. A back-lit photo wall at the entrance introduces visitors to the City’s many sights and works together with matching place labels on the walkable floor map to form an outright treasure-hunt for young visitors that can quiz their local knowledge on a printed map in the Center space. Every element in the space affords active exploration, discovery, and connections within the space as well as with the city, its present and history.
Inclusive and Strategic Design Process
The redesign of the Welcome Center has been a team effort involving numerous departments and City staff during initial research as well as the iterative design process. Additionally, observational studies and conversations were carried out with Welcome Center staff to better understand needs and experiences with visitors. The redesign of the City of Quincy Welcome Center is an example of how designing for an engaging visitor experience today means more than designing a space, information displays, or furnishings. It is about an inclusive design process focused on how all these elements work together to facilitate a holistic experience that is enriching, satisfying, and memorable.
Concept Development
Team
Research, Concept, Design
Information in Action
City of Quincy Team
Bob Damon, Department of Historic and Heritage Resources
Dagny Ashley, Department of Tourism
Paul Hines, Department of Public Buildings
Jacquelin Devin and Steven Washburn, GIS Team
Fabrication and Manufacturing Partners
Jaywalk, Furniture and Media Panels
Speedpro, Floor and Wall Prints
Emeco, Furniture
Leland, Furniture
Camman Lighting, Lighting
Reflex Lighting, Lighting