Exhibits / Digital Experiences / Immersive Environments
French Valley Discovery Hangar
A family-focused aviation discovery center where visitors explore the history, science, and future of flight through hands-on experiments, physical exhibits, digital interactives, and media.
My contribution
I led the overall design vision, experiential strategy, and multidisciplinary team from early concept through implementation. Our team developed interpretive content, graphics, and physical experiences, with specialized media partners integrated into the visitor journey.
How can aviation history become something you can touch and test?
Designed around the visitor
Audience research considered age ranges, regional travel distances, and family groups. The resulting journey offers different levels of physical, digital, and interpretive engagement, giving visitors several ways into the science of flight.
One connected experience
Architecture, exhibit design, UI/UX, graphics, content, media, fabrication, and technology were coordinated together. Historical storytelling sits alongside direct experimentation and a forward-looking view of aviation.
From concept to participation
The completed spaces put the exhibits into use: visitors test principles, explore digital media, and learn together. The design strategy also considered flexibility, maintenance, and the cost of continued operation.
Opening day
The opening-day gathering marked the transition from design and fabrication to a place for the community. The Discovery Hangar welcomed visitors into an experience built around curiosity, shared discovery, and hands-on exploration of flight.
Collaboration & credits
- Practice: PBK / Ether.
- Photography: Michael Zepeda, as credited in the portfolio.
- Specialized media, fabrication, and other project partners: names to be confirmed.
Image credits & source notes
- Completed aviation exhibit hall.
Photography: Michael Zepeda, per portfolio project credit. - Digital interaction offers another entry point into discovery.
Photography: Michael Zepeda. - Learning through testing and participation.
Photography: Michael Zepeda. - Historical and future-focused media within the visitor journey.
Photography: Michael Zepeda. - An airport-inspired graphic language at the scale of the detail.
Photography: Michael Zepeda. - An overall view of the completed discovery hangar.
Additional image from the supplied project archive. Photographer or visualization author and publication permission to be confirmed. - A dedicated simulator station invites visitors to explore flight.
Additional image from the supplied project archive. Photographer or visualization author and publication permission to be confirmed. - Hands-on stations connect the physics of flight with the larger exhibition.
Additional image from the supplied project archive. Photographer or visualization author and publication permission to be confirmed. - Opening day at the French Valley Discovery Hangar.
Photography: Michael Zepeda. Opening-day context supplied by Michael; web image prepared from the matching JPEG beside the original RAW file.
Source: supplied portfolio and additional project archive. Portfolio reference: PDF pages 20–27. Dates and status reflect that document. Individual roles are presented within the credited collaborative team.
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