Navy Pier
The Chicago Navy Pier
"Enchanted Waters" is an immersive
and uplifting reflection on Chicago’s
relationship with Lake Michigan
/01 Context
- Strategy
- Design
- Installation
As part of the complete redesign of the Navy Pier, we were requested to find the best way to connect and engage with their 9.3 million yearly visitors. Let us tell you something: when you’re responsible of evoking emotions in the physical space for one of Chicago’s most emblematic entertainment landmark, you surely have to approach it with an open mind and a hunger for challenges.
Even better, we knew it would mean creating an experience which would create an instant connection with an audience ranging from toddlers to your good ol’ grandma. Something they would be able to discover, embrace, enjoy, and move on from in a matter of minutes because, « Hey, honey, we’re going to be late to the Theatre if you keep on playing here”
/02 Concept
Your new superpowers
What if you could have the ability to peek at the Ocean’s floor, and stare at a huge schools of fish? Even better, what if we told you that you now have the superpower to step in and make them dance to the rhythm of your own movements? Wouldn’t it be awesome?
This must be your lucky day because this is exactly what we did.
/03 The idle state
The power of attraction
Have you ever stared at a school of fish? Relaxing and mesmerizing isn’t it?
Well, when you have to engage groups of people, in a space where people are just normally passing by, you have to give them a chance to get visual feedback of their presence, and from enough distance to ensure they’ll get curious and come closer, this is where the idle state came in action: a « default » soothing state for the whole installation.
/04 The tech side
And now what?
Through the use of several motion-sensing cameras, visitors can watch themselves play, interact with each other and conduct their own underwater ballet of fishes. Powered and built on Unity3D, the installation’s 30-foot-wide wall of screens displays a real-time 3D environment, transporting visitors to this magical, underwater plane.
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