DuPage County committee reviews revised Heritage Gallery design as community members press for people-focused content

DuPage County Public Works Committee members and local stakeholders debated a revised design for the county's Heritage Gallery on Tuesday, with designers from Taylor Studios presenting a timeline-based concept and members of the gallery committee and public urging greater emphasis on people, community groups and historically excluded populations.

The discussion centered on a concept that pairs an outer timeline with freestanding interior kiosks for deeper dives. Taylor Studios presenters said the arrangement was intended to let visitors read a short timeline while entering kiosks for longer, topic-specific material. Morgan, a member of the Taylor Studios team, told the committee the design "combines a timeline with an opportunity for deeper dives into specific content that gets very detailed." Pete, a Taylor Studios presenter, said the firm placed people at the center of the concept: "Our central theme is: throughout time, the people of DuPage County have continually and successfully adapted to change."

Why it matters: committee members and long-term gallery volunteers said the project should prioritize community histories, representation and artifacts over geology or broad landscape history. Philip Buchanan, speaking on behalf of the Heritage Gallery Committee, said the committee had expected earlier, direct engagement with Taylor Studios and that the first schematic "was a complete failure," prompting a redesign. He and other volunteers pressed for greater public and stakeholder input before moving into final design.

Discussion points and public comment - Several community stakeholders and committee members said the proposed emphasis on glaciers and natural landscape felt disconnected from the project's goal of spotlighting DuPage County's people and communities. "We don't want a geologic history of DuPage County," said one long-involved committee member during public comment, urging greater focus on topics such as the Underground Railroad, immigrant communities and local civil-rights history. (Comment quoted from public comment session.) - Supporters of the design said the timeline structure allowed multiple entry points for visitors and could be updated with rotating digital content. A number of committee members favored keeping the design modular so elements could be updated periodically or phased according to available funding. - Several members proposed adding a single large, changeable screen (or screens) to run short, produced videos and rotating programs tied to monthly observances (for example: Black History Month, Asian Pacific Heritage Month). Staff and designers said that screen content would be programmable and could be updated regularly; Morgan said the large screen "would be updated for the current event going on with the history." - Accessibility and durability concerns were raised: one committee member asked why the designers favored graphic reproductions for artifacts rather than physical cases, and the designers explained artifact cases are costly and the gallery space receives unfiltered UV light that risks object damage.

Budget, phasing and next steps - Taylor Studios presented a base concept and a list of "additions and alternates." The base graphics-and-post package was stated as $75,000; an additional package item was listed as $74,300 (presenters described that as an option bringing 2025 costs near $150,000 if both base and that add-on were adopted). An interactive option (touchscreen or additional digital components) was discussed as a further addition (presenters referenced an approximate $45,000 line for some interactive items in the alternates list). Designers said these figures included phasing assumptions and that later-year estimates included inflationary adjustments if work were delayed. - Committee members asked the design team to provide clearer line-by-line budgets and to explore lower-cost options (for example, using county IT/GIS resources for some digital elements or sourcing video content from partner museums). Several members recommended stronger engagement with DuPage County museums to curate rotating programs and to supply material for a speaking-history/video library. - The committee set March 4 as a public stakeholder focus session to prioritize content and to invite museums, community groups and employees to provide feedback. Staff also said there would be a public online survey and signage in the Heritage Gallery to solicit additional input after the March 4 session.

Quotes from the meeting (attributed) - Philip Buchanan, on behalf of the Heritage Gallery Committee: "When the schematic design finally arrived last fall, it was a complete failure. As a result, the design process had to start over." - Pete, Taylor Studios: "Our central theme is: throughout time, the people of DuPage County have continually and successfully adapted to change." - Morgan, Taylor Studios: "This is definitely still an open fluid concept discussion in terms of the content, and the exhibits themselves."

Staff direction and distinctions - The committee distinguished discussion from formal action: no final design approval or contract award occurred at the meeting. Instead, members directed staff and Taylor Studios to hold the March 4 stakeholder session, circulate the concept outline for written feedback, and return revised materials for further committee review.

Ending - Committee members and community stakeholders emphasized content and representation as priorities. Staff scheduled the March 4 concept-design focus session and a public survey to collect broader input before the committee takes any final design or procurement actions.