Dayton Children's Hospital

Dayton, Ohio
 

How do we honor childlike wonder and our supporters in a hospital
while celebrating gratitude, our values, and our identity?

Together with the Leadership Team at Dayton Children’s Hospital, we created a joyous Donor ART Wall for their new expansion reflecting their Vision, Hopes, Dreams, and Identity, and honoring their passionate and generous community. Over 30 feet of their vibrant local Huffman Prairie was illustrated with delightful hidden details as the background to an UPDATABLE list of 900 donors, along with a centerpiece of a small child magically releasing a flight of dozens of wonderful butterflies, fireflies, and swirling leaves from her “Jar of Possibilities”.

Different giving levels were each given their own bright color and brilliantly screen-printed on a layer of acrylic behind the etched and carved crystal glass. The wall shows the Dayton giving community of over 900 donors as a unified whole, and donors enjoy the discovery of their names. Top tier donors were also carved into the front layer of crystal glass at the installation’s center.

Exercising innovative and technical excellence in our design and installation is always a goal of ours. Here, that meant developing joyous, even effervescent 3-D elements (butterflies) to rise up and out of the two-dimensional artwork carved and etched onto the crystal panels -- flying up and free! And that also meant using programmed, sensor-driven displays to set off the "movement" of the butterflies and enable the wings to change colors as they "fluttered."

P R O G R A M M E D  A N D  I N T E R A C T I V E :
Amri Studio custom LED lights hidden along the top and bottom edges of the glass send light deep into the crystal; the multi-level carved and etched artwork catches the light and glows almost holographically, creating a luminous effect full of depth and detail. Nearby children and viewers trigger a small hidden sensor which causes a perched butterfly to glow and “flutter” much to the delight of children and adults alike. Then many of the flying creatures high above flicker as well, seeming to glow with movement.

One of our goals was to lift the spirits of the whole neighborhood by having the wall enhance the hospital's efforts to beautify and revive their part of town, which is quite near the Huffman Prairie. That meant using this beloved local landmark as an integral part of the design, and weaving delightful discoveries into every nook and cranny. Tucked throughout the highly detailed Huffman Prairie art backer are several hidden vignettes for children to find, inspiring delight and great conversations about philanthropy.