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An interactive experience in Berlin by Deutsche Telekom and multimedia design studio flora&faunavisions
29 Oct
The Magenta Moon Campus Berlin by Deutsche Telekom invites visitors of all ages to learn about sustainability, technology, and media skills in an immersive fantasy environment.
Leipziger Platz, a reconstructed prime office and retail complex in Central Berlin opposite the famous Potsdamer Platz, is renowned for housing one of the largest department stores on the continent. The original building was damaged by Allied bombs in 1944 and eventually bulled down in 1955, but a new complex was designed by architects Léonwohlhage, who won an international architectural competition in 2016, and now features 270 shops as well as apartments, office space and a hotel.
Since October 17th, Leipziger Platz has also housed a magical and immersive experience where visitors of all ages are invited to discover current trends and events through creativity and play – and to rethink current education concepts. The innovative Magenta Moon installation by Deutsche Telekom has been a welcome project during a time when Berlin’s usual cultural activities have been closed or cancelled. While you may not be able to visit Berlin before the installation closes on November 1st, you can still join in online with talks, live streams, workshops and events that tackle topics from hate speech to climate change.
An educational experience that ignites all the senses
Media company flora&faunavisions oversaw the design of the space. Complete with workshops, talks, maker spaces and an interactive escape room game, Magenta Moon has plenty to explore for everyone. At the heart of it all is the event’s dazzling, immersive Magenta Moon Garden. This interactive, walkthrough video installation is designed to trigger conversations around sustainability, technology, and media skills, and comprises of three separate visual environments; Sunrise Garden, Moon Garden and Magenta Moon. Each section is enriched with intuitive, interactive real-time elements that visitors can enjoy.
Massive wall and floor projections fill the whole space with lyrical video content that reacts to visitor movements in real-time using radarTOUCH laser scanners. The team’s greatest test was to translate this high-res experience into a 7-meter high and 36-meter long curved space, with Surround Sound 5.1 that gives guests a real sense of being part of a living digital canvas.
The enchanting Moon Garden is a remarkable escape from the bustling city outside; visitors can raise virtual gardens – while smelling, tasting, or picking the actual plants on display, experiencing them with all their senses. Blooms open and glow, accompanied by soothing fragrances. The shifting and flowing patterns of interactive sculptures and objects relax and satisfy the mind.
Celebrating the best of innovative design
“Creating spaces for discovery and emotions has never been this important,” says Leigh Sachwitz, the founder of flora&faunavisions.
Berlin-based multimedia design studio flora&faunavisions is a star that has been rising for the last 20 years, exploring ideas and creating inspiring content and ’emotional moments’ since 1999. Their success lies in their ability to innovatively combine production, space, moving image, graphic and product design, stage installations, creative direction, and multimedia design.
Their diverse portfolio has allowed them to shift from one industry to the next seamlessly. They have worked across theatre and opera productions, live music, fashion shows, and company events, to 360-degree soft-edge projection mapping and responsive data works.
Adapting events to encourage social distancing and Covid-safety
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to flora&faunavisions’ no-touch concept, encouraging them to choreograph the visitor’s journey around the installation with a considered approach. By merely adapting their designs to the current social distancing requirements, visitors automatically keep the right distance apart – giving them a well-needed break to play, learn, or relax in a safe, sensory environment.
“There’s no alternative to real-life encounters. But hybrid concepts that blend digital aspects with safe live experiences can offer new scope and space for such moments. And serve as hopeful symbols of how to create a sense of normalcy in uncertain times,” Leigh explains.
Hybrid education concepts that blend digital teaching with real encounters
The large-scale interactive media installation merges natural garden elements with zeitgeisty architecture to draw attention to crucial issues and trending subjects. The installation transforms into an interactive digital escape room game, focusing on media literacy and sustainability every half hour. Players are encouraged to learn to separate fake news from real facts while gaining plenty of valuable insights on diversity, climate change, new technologies, or the future of education – and what they can do to make a difference.
Using sounds and harmonies, they can compose their own, downloadable soundtrack for their journey through the remarkable Magenta Moon. They leave the experience with a sense of their impact on their surrounding environment. “The interactive moments highlight a sense of autonomy,” says Leigh. “It’s up to me what happens – I can do something to shape my own future.”
Experience an exclusive online tour through the installation and behind-the-scenes insights by flora&faunavisions CEO and founder @leighsachwitz. Visit the magical, detoxing Moon Garden live on Thursday 29th October at 18.30 (CET) at magentamoon.de
All Photos by Ken Schluchtmann, diephotodesigner.de
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