Designing Spaces Down Under: Lockheed Martin Opens Australian NCITE Facility

They say the third time is a charm. If you ask the Creative & Strategic Services (C&SS) team at IS&GS—it certainly lives up to its name—and comes with its own set of unique challenges. Lockheed Martin officially opened its third NexGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Center, referred to internally as NCITE—on March 21—in Canberra, Australia. The company’s U.S. NCITE facility is in Gaithersburg, Md., and another center is based in Farnborough, U.K.

Did you ever stop and wonder about how our facilities get their unique design? “It’s an extensive process,” explains Jeff Flora, creative director, C&SS in Richland, Wash. “We wanted to connect some consistency with the existing NCITE facilities in Gaithersburg and the UK, but also incorporate the unique qualities of Australia into the facility.” Having visited The Outback before, Flora was able to draw on his personal experience, but he passionately dove into research of the country and learned its people are very eco-conscious. Flora also found the color palette should be very vibrant thanks to the beautiful water and environment that surrounds the continent.

The C&SS team worked hand-in-hand with the architectural team to develop an inspirational design for the reception area, part of which was to shroud the space in “more light.” With low ceilings it was very important to Flora to ensure natural light would flow into the space to help enhance the design elements. He partnered with master craftsman Lynn Ver Steeg of C&SS in Richland, Wash., who designed, engineered and constructed a series of custom structures and technology solutions stateside and other materials out of aluminum that were shipped to Australia.

“We were doing something we hadn’t done before—cutting materials in our shop in the United States, shipping them overseas and them constructing them in Australia with the expectation that our measurements were spot-on, without ever seeing the facility” Ver Steeg says. “We couldn’t afford to be off with our measurements or with budget both in dollars and in time—this was a quick turn project in terms of development, construction and installation.”

When a guest would enter the NCITE facility, the team envisioned a welcoming space that would incorporate technology, the Australian landscape and connect users with what Lockheed Martin does best: IT. “So we began stringing a complex series of cables from the ceiling—those were integral to our design— we hung what are called ditto tiles, a material of recycled plastic, which when clustered together resemble crashing ocean waves,” Flora says.

“Upon entering the lobby, the visitor feels as if they are on the Australian Coast with a beautiful view of the ocean and blue skies of Australia. Jeff and Lynn did a wonderful job of integrating Australian culture with state-of-the art technology,” says senior project manager Steven E. Cogdell, who also is the Program Manager for the Australian NCITE facility, based in Rockville, Md. “After being inspired by the initial lobby experience, the visitor will then notice the technology kiosks and the interactive wall that allows them to view our products and solutions with a literal “wave of the hand” using gesture based technology. Richland-based programmer Phillip Cargo designed and coded the series of the gesture-based interactive display that incorporates Microsoft’s KNECT technology, which really brings the user into the “experience.”

“Our customer wanted a water feature incorporated into the facility—so Lynn set about to engineer a stainless cable floating from the wall—there’s this ghost-like appearance to them,” Flora says with a glint in his eyes. “It worked very well—there’s a bit of a splash thing—it takes on a random flow, it looks very fluid, and there’s a fish tank behind the recycled plastic, so you really have the total effect of movement—it’s really very visually appealing.”

Ver Steeg felt the reception area needed a focal point. His plans back in the States called for a 10-foot diameter glass aluminum desk made of Australian cherry wood, but he felt it was missing something. He decided to overlay the coastline of Australia in the desk—made of aluminum. Ver Steeg describes the desk as “one with a modern look , it’s something you haven’t seen before with a very earthy feel and quite functional. What’s neat is you can see the random line of peninsulas and inlets along with a very uniform gridwork, plus really high contrast, in all it’s a bit of organized chaos, but it’s just really great.”

C&SS also worked with the local Lockheed Martin team to find native materials to incorporate into the design. “At one point Australian team were lugging in 1,500 pounds of rock to help enhance the design of the NCITE, which I thought was just really great from a teaming perspective,” Flora says. “Those rocks are indigenous to the country and really added to the natural feel of the facility.”

Flora and Ver Steeg were involved in all aspects of the creative development of the facility—of the NCITE which also features a fixed screen interactive wall, comprised of six four-by-six flat screen panel televisions, a series of interactive demonstration stations and other displays that customers can test out while waiting for their meetings to begin at the NCITE. What are they most proud of about this project? “Initially the Australians weren’t too keen on having us design their facility which is understandable,” says Flora. “Ultimately proving to the Aussies that we could do a great job and then standing back with them and enjoying the finished product with them – that was really cool. It was bridging two countries.” Ver Steeg continues, “ I think we made friends on this project—and we’re already talking about what we’re going to do for them next—isn’t that the definition of customer engagement?”

“The reception area is perhaps one of the most talked about areas of our facility in regard to the customer experience—as soon as people exit the lifts they are amazed at the design/build of the area and I often overhear comments like ‘wow,’ ‘cool,’ or ‘best I’ve seen.’”

And, IS&GS Executive Vice President Linda Gooden may have said it best in her welcoming remarks when the facility officially opened. Gooden noted, NCITE is a critical resource that can help us all accomplish more with less ... something we can all appreciate in today’s challenging global economic environment.” She said, “Working with the NCITE team, you can explore how technology advancements such as cloud computing ... big data analytics ... and integrated cyber security can help you manage your enterprises more efficiently, effectively and securely.”

This team was recently lauded with Lockheed Martin’s most prestigious honor—the NOVA Award—in recognition of the design and implementation of the Australian NCITE. Additionally, the team was named as 2012 Gold Winner by Event Design Magazine for “Best Permanent Installation.” The magazine received hundreds of submissions from around the world in 14 categories representing 14 categories including exhibit environments and permanent installs, to brand pavilions and best interactives. Check out this year’s winners online.