Twelve-story tall installation by 3M invites the world to celebrate the power of curiosity, passion and purpose
The commitment by 3M to harnessing the power of curiosity and wonder is made visible by the completion of a major design installation at their headquarters building in St Paul, Minnesota.
The global science company has wrapped its main headquarters building to encourage people to pursue their own sense of curiosity that can lead to discovery and problem-solving. Viewable from the eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 94, the building wrap covers 30% of two sides of the iconic building and serves as a visual representation of the brand’s Wonder campaign. The Wonder campaign seeks to inspire people to examine the world around them and see that curiosity can lead to great discoveries.
“Every day around the world, 91,000 employees from diverse backgrounds and perspectives are inspired to go beyond simply asking questions so that they can solve our customer’s toughest problems and change the world for the better,” said Laurie Altman, Vice President Marketing and Sales Operations at 3M.
“That powerful combination of curiosity, passion and purpose – using 3M Science to improve lives – has been a part of our DNA for more than 116 years. We know there are many passionate and intellectually curious people in the world and we invite everyone to join us in embracing the spark that leads to problem-solving.”
“Active curiosity leads to great ideas. The next ‘big’ idea will come naturally from a creative collision of many smaller ideas that build upon each other,” said Eric Quint, Vice President and Chief Design Officer at 3M.
“Though the best idea is a result of collaborative creativity reminding us that we are part of an ecosystem, uniting purpose with partnership, that creates meaningful innovations.”
The installation is made up of nearly 500 individual pieces of film on each side of the building, which fit together like a mosaic. Two types of films supported the vision for this installation – the Controltac Graphic Film, opaque for the windowless surfaces, and the Scotchcal Perforated Window Graphic, perforated to cover the windows.
The perforated film allows for 60% of light to transfer through the window into the space inside, whilst still reflecting colour on the outside and providing viewability from the inside out.
The brand has been a leading commercial graphics provider for decades. It partnered with leading speciality provider The Vomela Companies to bring the design to life across the 12-stories of two sides of its St Paul headquarters building.
“We have partnered with the company for 70 years and this project is an excellent example of design creativity and best-in-class application of 3M Science,” said Paul Peterson, Operations Director for The Vomela Companies.
“By combining 3M products with our expertise in printing and installation, we are able to bring design concepts to life in unique and inspiring ways.”
