Adler Planetarium - Café Galileo’s Renovation, Entry Signage

Chicago, Illinois / United States of America

The client sought a dramatic interior element to entice visitors into a planetarium’s renewed Café Galileo’s, while reinforcing the planetarium’s focus on space exploration and technological advancement. The new entry sign curves to lead visitors around the corner and toward the food service line. The drum shape responds to three challenges of the existing layout: 1) an ambiguous entry to a key space; 2) no signage/branding at the café entrance; and 3) no advertising for upcoming museum events. During the day, the sign’s copper and aluminum surfaces glimmer, while at night, the glowing programmable color scheme, based loosely on shooting stars, draws views toward the iconic Chicago skyline. This establishes the brand image of the visitor food service, and helps transform the space into a storybook venue for receptions and galas. The 80-inch screen embedded in the curve allows the museum and café operator to advertise daily activities, and then swings out to face the large seating/reception space for video or slideshow presentations.