Projects: Wayfinding Stations As Art In Miami’s Aventura Mall

July 10, 2015 by Dave Haynes

Aventura Mall's New Digital Directories Merge Art, Architecture And Industry-Leading Technology (PRNewsFoto/Aventura Mall)

The very upscale Aventura Mall in Miami has added a set of seven interactive directories to help shoppers find their way around the 2.7 million-square-foot facility.

There’s nothing all that new about digital wayfinding in malls, but what’s distinct here are custom enclosures designed by architects, by a gloriously named Brooklyn, NY  firm, Snarkitecture.

 

 

Created from stacked DuPont Corian (kitchen counter stuff), the stepping layers of the digital directories produce the visual effect of both receding and expanding.

“We wanted to create a piece that was visually dynamic yet functional and approachable as a directory,” says Snarkitecture in a news release. “We chose white Corian as a material because it has the weight and density of a natural material such as stone but is very minimal and clean. The stacked layers that fall away from the outer faces allow for the same object to be read in two completely different ways: a thin plane from head on and a solid monolith from the side.”

Miami-based CMA did the software, tech and install, and use vector-based maps that allow shoppers to expand, shrink and move around store locator  maps. Guests can also search for multiple destinations such as “dining” and select options from within a specific walking radius. The maps are HTML5-driven, so they can be integrated with smartphones and tablets.

Something I’ve not seen with mall directories before is a tool CMA offers called MediaPins, which ties into web services and creates markers on the maps that are dynamic. So if you are looking around a mall for what to see and do, it could have pins for special events, sales and even movies and next showings. The pins expand, a bit like mouse-over pop-up windows on a browser (since that’s what’s effectively happening here).

 

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