UM Sustain Lab
About the University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM) ranks in the tier of America’s top 50 research universities. A private research university with tens of thousands of students from around the world, UM is a vibrant and diverse academic community focused on teaching and learning. With a vast array of academic disciplines, service to the South Florida region and beyond is among the institution’s priorities. One of UM’s most important scientific arms is the Surge Structure Atmospheric Interaction facility (SUSTAIN). The task: getting a website that informs the public about SUSTAIN, all while offering information that is valuable to both the scientific community and the public.
We created a multimedia experience where the SUSTAIN lab could share findings, photos, experiments and other research worldwide.
Our Approach
UM’s prestigious Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science partnered with Design House seeking a website that would convey the story of SUSTAIN, which has created the world’s biggest hurricane simulator and aims to improve hurricane forecasts. SUSTAIN studies storm surge, wind damage and flooding, which can be the most destructive and deadliest effects of a hurricane on a coastal topography. The study becomes more complex and crucial when you consider the population explosion among coastal communities. Design House provided a multimedia platform where researchers at SUSTAIN could upload images such as forecast models, graphs, charts and images of their experiments. We crafted a website experience with video and rich photography that featured the valuable work being conducted by this facility – the end result is to create more sustainable coastal communities that are more disaster resistant and resilient when faced with cyclones. Miami and other coastal towns can sleep a little bit easier as our client continues to contribute valuable content to the website, enriching people with the knowledge that the big bad storm’s huffing and puffing can’t hurt like it used to.