Roto, a leading planning & design-build firm, has announced that it has signed a lease with E.V. Bishoff Company on 30,000 square feet of space on the Whittier Peninsula. The area, which is next to Scioto Audubon Metro Park, will soon be the site of the business’s brand-new public-facing project—a unique “experimental museum.”
The Dublin-based firm is working towards a launch in late 2024 and intends to release additional details in the upcoming months.
“The future of museums and attractions is being shaped by creative design technology. We are excited to be building something truly original that will only be found here in Columbus,” says Joseph Wisne, Roto’s founding partner.
David Bishoff, president of the E.V. Bishoff Company, adds: “When we saw the plans for the experimental museum, we knew immediately that we wanted it to be a part of The Audubon. Equally important to us is the quality of people behind the project. The talent at Roto is certainly in a class by itself.”
Creating something “truly original”
The Audubon, a 1950s-era distribution facility, is the Whittier Peninsula’s only surviving original building.
The E.V. Bishoff Company began a remarkable transformation of the 200,000-square-foot distribution centre after Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks completed the 150-acre Audubon Park, which surrounds the building. The building now houses over 100,000 square feet of open, loft-style office space along with Nocterra Tap House and recreational facilities like Vertical Adventures, The Fit Club, and retail stores.
Roto has contracted with MA Design, an architecture firm located in Columbus, to manage the renovation of its interior and preparations for the museum’s new form of interactive engagement.
Last year, the company shared details of how it had partnered with the new American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame in High Point, North Carolina, US, to help tell the story of this $150 billion industry. The firm used its design expertise to showcase the details of form, fabric, quality and style throughout the 25,000-square-foot building, exploring all the ways that furniture connects people to make a house a home.
