The mission: design a traveling Bob Marley exhibit for a 2700 SF gallery space, with extensions into the lobby and stair hall. The firm was only given previously-curated material, and the task was to design for a Miami-specific audience.

The museum is located in the Miami-Dade Cultural Plaza, a raised complex in Downtown Miami also housing the main public library and art museum.

The special/temporary exhibits hall previously housed more static exhibitions. With a limited budget, the architect’s goal was to transform the space with a few bold moves to breathe a new life into the museum with this exhibit.

The exhibit expanded from its confines in the exhibit hall into the stair hall and finally the reception area to engage the visitor from the moment they walk in the door.

A local artist was commissioned to paint a mural of Bob Marley for the first impression for visitors. A palette of black and white and a serious tone compliments the exhibit, contrasting with the typical portrayal of the musician.

The introduction text is superimposed on a large cropped, serious Bob Marley, setting the tone to an exhibit that portrays Bob Marley in a more serious, personal way. As a messenger.

The black walls highlight the framed rare photos on the wall and help immerse the visitor with the content. The dramatic and dark surroundings are punctuated with the three bold volumes in in the center of the space that also serve as information panels.

Instead of the typical distressed fonts often used with Bob Marley, the architect decided to go with the font that best represented its take on Marley—simple, direct and universal: Helvetica.

Instead of the typical distressed fonts often used with Bob Marley, the architect decided to go with the font that best represented its take on Marley—simple, direct and universal: Helvetica.

The three volumes in the center of the space serve dual purposes.

Architecturally, they break up the hall into different experiences. They provide a surface for narratives on one side, house interactive drum sets inside, and serve as one side of the wrapping “Messages” zone—the final experience when the visitor leaves.

Rastafarianism was the core of Bob Marley. Keeping with the bold simplicity of the exhibit design, the architect avoided the typical scattering/overuse of the 3 Rastafarian colors (red, gold, green) in a Bob Marley exhibit. Instead, the three colors are seen as three physical stripes, like the Rastafarian flag, in the center of the exhibit. Thus, they are the core of the entire experience.

The dark walls and floor highlight both the framed archival photos as well as accentuate the physical Rastafarian stripes that frame the spaces.

Section diagram showing how the volumes divide the two experiences.

the black walls highlight the main artifacts: rare and personal black and white photographs of Marley’s life, and introduces a level of seriousness to his image. The use of white for the messages contrasts the black and it’s so visitors can leave with a positive message in a light, airy feel.

Bob Marley’s message was in his lyrics and quotes. After viewing photographs, artifacts, concert footage, and working with interactive media, the final experience is being surrounded by Marley’s words in a bright environment, with hopes that the visitor leaves not only informed, but inspired.

In order to quickly grasp the messages to the visitor walking through, key words were enlarged as the messages wrapped the walls and floor.

On opening night, visitors spent a considerable amount of time in this area, some claiming they read each of the 95 quotes.

Elevations. The firm designed all aspects of the environment to bring the curated objects to life, from super graphics to exact placement of objects on walls and in display cases.