Confidence Center Exhibit

Tupperware Brands Corp.  

Past, Present and Future

This high-tech, modern experience center located inside an historic mid-century modern building, required assembling and leading the right team of highly qualified exhibit and interactive designers, writers, archivists, architectural, AV and lighting consultants, set fabricators and internal stakeholders.  The exhibit space is located directly behind the main reception area and Grand Staircase, right next to the company’s retail Gallery Store. In order to assure the exhibit had its own sense of place, the decision was made to treat this space as unique and separate from the rest of the building.  

Special attention was required to transition from the mid-century modern main entry and Grand Stair into the modern exhibit space. This was achieved by utilizing the space underneath and on either side of the Grand Stair for displays focused on the company’s beginnings and history, including a rear-projected company history video and a glass case housing the original mold machine on which Founder, Earl Tupper, produced the first Tupperware Wondelier bowls. 

Immediately beyond the history displays, guests enter into a display which showcases the company’s present brand portfolio and worldwide reach.  Undulating facade walls finished in white laminate redefine the perimeter walls of this space, and provide access areas behind for the technology equipment which powers the interactive exhibits. Digital storytelling, with various levels of engagement, allow guests to learn about the company’s brands and products, Sales Force, and selling method, all in four major languages. 

Neutral finishes throughout the space provide a clean backdrop for colorful graphics and product displays which lead visitors through the exhibit. Architectural detailing in the “Global Lounge” area, including the round, edge-lit tray ceiling and custom column wraps with graphics highlighting company values, creates a central “hub” connecting the “spokes” of the various displays within the exhibit - mimicking, in a subtle way, the Tupperware logo. 

Beyond the aesthetic challenges innate to this project, from an engineering standpoint, the challenge lay in how to fit the immense technology package, including 3D projectors, ceiling-mounted cameras and speakers, and specialty lighting fixtures, within the 18” deep, coffered plenum space of this 1969 building. To add to the challenges, due to the building’s age, asbestos fireproofing material was present and had to be abated before the tedious process of installation could begin. Once construction was complete, the bright, modern, engaging experience that resulted leaves no indication of the many challenges that had to be addressed. In recognition of this, the project was awarded the 2015 Design Challenges Award by the IIDA Florida Central Chapter at their annual Awards Gala.