Bowman Design Group, an interdisciplinary communications design firm specializing in identity, exhibits and event marketing, has earned a bronze Event Design Award in the Permanent Installations category for its work with Southern California Edison (SCE) to create SCE’s newest educational facility, the Smart Energy Experience™.
The new installation showcases current and emerging technologies that SCE is deploying in its effort to develop a cleaner, smarter and more reliable electric grid. Located inside SCE’s Customer Technology Application Center (CTAC) in Irwindale, CA, the 2,260 square foot interactive exhibit will help SCE to educate consumers and businesses about new ways to manage residential energy use and costs.
Judges for the Event Design Awards, sponsored by Event Design magazine, select “the best of the best” from hundreds of international entries, focusing on the use of design to convey message, engage visitors and create aesthetic appeal.
The Smart Energy Experience™ was commended for combining design creativity with expertise in clarifying complex messages about next-generation energy efficiency and reliability. Realistic architecture and outdoor elements recreate a typical Southern California home with a difference. Here, visitors experience how SCE’s cutting-edge technologies work together to respond to electrical events and to give customers new ways to manage their costs and carbon footprints.
During a thirty minute docent-led tour, technology demonstrations both inside and outside the home take visitors though a full day of energy use. Theatrical lighting, sound effects and paint treatments are used to convey the passage of time and to recreate electrical events such as lightning strikes and peak demand brown outs. The exhibit also features interactive video kiosks that allow customers to explore the exhibit on their own.
“Bowman Design Group understands that experiential learning is the cornerstone of our exhibits at CTAC. The Smart Energy Experience™ is an immersive environment that provides our customers with a hands-on demonstration of SCE’s smart grid technologies,” says Doug Campbell, SCE’s manager of CTAC.
