CLIENT
Founded in 1884, The American Kennel Club is dedicated to upholding the integrity of its Registry, promoting the sport of purebred dogs and breeding for type and function. The AKC® and its affiliated organizations advocate for the purebred dog as a family companion, advance canine health and well-being, work to protect the rights of all dog owners and promote responsible dog ownership.
In March 2019, the Museum of the Dog opened in its new home at 101 Park Ave., New York City, the Organization’s headquarters, after having been located in Missouri.
CHALLENGES
Creating a space that housed the AKC’s extensive dog related art as well as providing an entertaining and engaging experience for visitors was the top priority for the Museum’s design team. TRITECH was awarded the contract to bring that vision to life, as created by the audio-visual designers, SMW of New York. The TRITECH engineering team worked with SMW designers to fill in the details of the overall design and created the completed documentation that would guide the implementation teams as they installed the complex systems.
Bringing static paintings, sculpture, artifacts and documents to life while making them exciting and informative necessitated some creative solutions. The AKC’s extensive collection of all those items made the task especially challenging.
Once the design and engineering teams completed their work, the TRITECH implementation teams set about the task of building the systems within the specified parameters, schedules and budgets. The building’s location in busy mid-town Manhattan added another layer of complexity.
SOLUTIONS
The Museum of the Dog offers visitors a peaceful oasis in the heart of one of the busiest cities in the world. Featuring numerous interactive displays, in a variety of form factors, it provides useful information in engaging, fun methods. The interactive tables on the first floor allow users to select a specific dog breed and learn more about it to see if it would make a good companion. Other interactive exhibits offer visitors the opportunity to see which dog breed looks the best “on them”, a truly unique way of providing valuable information about the breeds.
The centerpiece of the first floor’s main exhibit space is the beautiful “ribbon” display that surrounds the front of the space. Utilizing state of the art projection technology, the display shows a variety of breeds running across the tops of the floor to ceiling windows in an entertaining fashion that is mesmerizing.
Other floors feature additional interactive displays that inform and entertain visitors. An extensive collection of historical artifacts about the human-dog relationship is beautifully displayed as are photographs and artifacts detailing the AKC’s long and storied history.
OUTCOME
Surrounded by beautiful images, informative exhibits and fun, interactive technology the Museum stimulates and informs while entertaining and educating. It’s become a favorite of New Yorkers and visitors from around the world and is a beautiful reminder of the amazing world of dogs and how much they contribute to the human experience.
