Revolutionizing Exhibition Design: Poro City

Award-Winning Design Transforms Mundane Milk Crates into Vibrant Exhibition Space

The inspiration for Poro City came from the humble milk crate, an item often overlooked yet designed for durability and reuse. The team saw potential in these sturdy containers, transforming them into a brick system for constructing exhibition walls. The result is a structure that is neither transparent nor solid, housing the exhibition without imposing a rigid boundary.

The design's unique properties lie in its adaptability and familiarity. The milk crate's flexibility allows for various design options that can adapt to different spaces. Moreover, its immediately familiar iconography makes it approachable to a wide range of audiences. The design team aimed to create a dialogue with the many communities of Los Angeles, using a recognizable object to connect with each unique neighborhood.

The construction of Poro City was a community effort. The modular crate system was designed to be easy and fast to assemble. With the help of volunteers, the team was able to construct all of the walls in less than a day. The exhibition is constructed with 1100 counts of 33 cm x 33 cm x 28 cm milk crates and distributed in a 200 square meters gallery.

The exhibition's design is not just about the physical structure. The team's vision was to exemplify the ability of people to create the extraordinary from the mundane. The bright and unexpected colors used in the exhibition further elevate and transform the material, showcasing it in a new way. Each color, orange, yellow, and pink, dominates a different area of the exhibition space, creating a vibrant and engaging environment for visitors.

Despite the challenges faced, such as the viral milk-crate challenge from Tik Tok that discouraged climbing on the walls, the team managed to create a separate seating element rather than integrating it with the exhibition walls. This decision ensured the safety of visitors while maintaining the integrity of the design.

In conclusion, Poro City is a testament to the power of innovative design thinking. By transforming a mundane object like a milk crate into a vibrant and engaging exhibition space, the design team has demonstrated the extraordinary potential of everyday objects. This award-winning design serves as an inspiration for future designers to think outside the box and see the potential in the ordinary.