Illustrating the Chip-Making Process
Syracuse University’s Center for Science and Technology constructed a mock dark lab of autonomous and controlled robotics equipment for students to receive first hand experience in the future of semiconductor manufacturing.
Our team was tasked with the goal of creating a cohesive environmental design response that would announce the suite to the building and communicate the actual process of how these chips are manufactured.
Designing with Machined Logic
Positioned directly opposite the schools main entry, the lab opens up to the public with a large expanse of glazing facing the Atrium space and the connecting corridor. Both storefronts received an amber gradient filter along the bottom, merged with angular paths and nodes designed to represent the physical pathways the autonomous vehicles follow within the lab.
Keeping the installation lower to the floor creates a clear view for observers to see deep into the lab and allows space for additional signage and monitors that can display close up feeds of the vehicles actions. Introducing a bold use of color to complement the glazing and monitors forms a portal into the lab to create a small moment of pause for viewers to take in the space.
Integrating the Digital + Physical
Accompanying a digital bulletin, across from the lab we designed a custom wall graphic inspired by the digital interpretation of space that the LiDAR of each vehicle performs. that takes an image of a real dark lab through a filter similar to what LiDAR scanning produces, connecting the viewer to the otherwise unseen data processing each vehicle performs in order to navigate a space. Passively displaying this image with the layered Amber and Blue further reinforces a physical representation of the complex processes involved through semiconductor manufacturing.
Layers of acrylic panels atop a custom vinyl wall covering reinterprets the UV protected films and cases this manufacturing requires and reconnects with the University’s branding.
