Roto, a leading planning & design-build firm, completed several projects in 2022 and is now taking a look at the trends to watch for the coming year.
One of the key projects that the company worked on this year was at COX Science Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, where it developed a new digital exhibition gallery.
Here, the company was in charge of creating a totally immersive and interactive experience that allows guests to build objects and test them in a virtual setting. Roto was chosen because of its track record of enhancing in-house media capabilities for museums and attractions.
The digital exhibition gallery experiences consist of a multifunctional platform with a floor-to-ceiling interactive media system and they focus on Florida’s leadership in industries including aerospace and clean tech. Visitors can interact with the 4,900 square foot space and its content in a unique and self-directed experience thanks to a series of high-tech motion tracking and touch point sensors.
A busy 12 months
Another example of Roto’s work over the course of 2022 can be found at Discovery World on Market. This is the Mid-Ohio Valley’s only children’s museum and is located in downtown Parkersburg, West Virginia.
Roto led the design-build of 10,000 square feet in multiple galleries for this attraction during this year and is currently installing experiences such as “The River Adventure,” “Ball Factory,” and “Design Studio”. These offer one-of-a-kind hands-on experiences that are accessible to all. The opening is planned for Spring 2023.
As well as completing projects for clients, Roto also attended this year’s IAAPA Expo in Orlando, where it celebrated the new Roto and Brilliant Fabrication partnership. Brilliant was acquired by Roto Group in early 2022 and has since benefitted from Roto’s global reach, design capacity, and media and AV capabilities. Brilliant Fabrication continues to grow as a wholly independent fabrication shop.
Several new team members joined Roto this year as well, adding depth and expertise in nearly every studio.
In addition, more than 900 students from eight school districts visited Roto as part of its ongoing evaluation program in 2022. This sees students testing and providing feedback on active prototypes.
A formal exchange agreement exists between Roto and the Dublin City School district (comprising 15,000 students including four middle schools, 12 elementary housing seven pre-schools). In-school STEM initiatives receive voluntary support from Roto personnel, while the district supports teachers (particularly in the sciences and the arts) who actively incorporate student involvement with Roto projects into their lesson plans.
Looking ahead to 2023
Roto has been busy during 2022, pushing the limits and enhancing expectations around immersive media experiences. Now, CEO Joseph Wisne reflects on what we can expect from the year ahead:
“Looking ahead to 2023, the previous several years of global experimentation with immersive media will likely reach its point of maturation, and therefore, also, of renewal. When we discuss this trend at Roto and apply our thinking to the future of placemaking and cultural exhibitions, we use the term “supersensory.”
“This captures not only the immense visual canvases our projects can paint on, but the engagement of all other human “senses” within the new environments we create. Sound and vibration, absolutely, and also the sense of adventure, belonging, and intrinsic purpose that forge genuine human connections in exhibitions and museums. Supersensory means immersion beyond video projections. And it is time we elevated our expectations for what these encounters can mean for audiences.”
Last month, Roto unveiled a new brand identity for Brilliant Fabrication and announced the addition of three new team members in key leadership positions. This followed the retirement of long-time industry icon Leo English and the appointment of the new CEO, Allen Boerger.
