School of engineering and Design
SATELLITE 2.0
Carla Sauvant, Baris Özakay, Kerem Yilmaz
Chair of Architectural Informatics
Technical University of Munich
SATELLITE 2.0
Chair of Architectural Informatics
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Petzold
Interactive Visualization: Virtual Art Spaces
Lars Wüstemann, Nick Förster, Frank Petzold
Carla Sauvant, Baris Özakay, Kerem Yilmaz in Cooperatin with SAT Montreal
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Table of Contents
Digital and physical exhibition spaces
Project background: SAT and Satellite
Visual concept
Guestbook
Functional concept
Spatial concept Sources
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Digital and physical exhibitioon spaces
Physical art exhibition spaces and virtual art spaces in the metaverse have both similarities and differences. The physical space offers an immersive, sensory, and emotional experience for the viewers, while the digital space offers a unique virtual experience through the use of technology.
One of the significant differences between physical and digital art exhibition spaces is the way people experience architecture and space. In the physical space, the viewers can experience art through various senses, such as sight, sound, smell and touch. However, in the digital realm, the viewers experience art through a purely visual and auditory medium which seems limiting at first, but digital spaces instead offer the possibility to showcase art in a limitless and dynamic way and facilitate the use of interactive digital features, animations and even the active participation in creating art yourself.
Another difference between physical and digital art exhibition spaces is accessibility. Physical art exhibition spaces are usually located in specific locations, limiting the number of people who can access them. On the other hand, virtual art spaces are accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, providing a global audience with the opportunity to experience art from the comfort of their homes whenever they feel like it.
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Fg. 3: „Das House 2.0: Inside Kepler‘s garden“ by Ars Electronica
Fg. 4: „Kepler‘s garden“ by Ars Electronica
In terms of similarities, both physical and digital art exhibition spaces aim to showcase art to the audience. They also offer a platform for artists to showcase their works to the public, providing them with the opportunity to connect with their viewers.
It is essential to build virtual art spaces differently than physical ones because people experience architecture and space differently in the digital realm. According to the article „Design in the Metaverse: How to create immersive and engaging virtual experiences“ 1 (admin, 2023), there are four major aspects to consider when planning a virtual world:
1. NAVIGATION: The space should be designed in such a way that new visitors can instantly navigate it and find their way. In order to achieve this, it is recommended to use intuitive controls and strong visual cues that may seem exuberant in the physical world but will prevent frustration in the virtual space and help create a seamless and authentic experience.
2. INTERACTIVITY: As the virtual world does not yet cater to all human senses, it is crucial to put special emphasis on creating immersion through options to interact in meaningful ways with the virtual space.
3. BRANDING: The design options in the digital are virtually limitless and it is thus much easier than in the physical world to create a coherent branding and promote one‘s company or organisation. The space itself can be used to showcase corporate colours, logos and other information.
4. INNOVATION: As the metaverse is a rather new medium and therefore developing and growing as we speak, there are still many unexplored factors to it and the possibilities to push innovation are manifold.
With the right design, virtual art spaces can provide a unique and interactive experience for viewers, connecting them with art in new and exciting ways.
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Fg. 5: „Cassandra rooms“ by Anke Schiemann displayed at Satellite
FG. 6: „Cassandra rooms“ by Anke Schiemann displayed at Satellite
Project background: SAT and Satellite
„Founded in 1996, the Society for Arts and Technology [SAT] is a non-profit organization dedicated to digital culture. With its triple mission as a center for the arts, training and research, the SAT is a gathering space for diverse talent, curiosity, and knowledge. It is recognized internationally for its active, leading role in developing technologies for immersive creation, mixed realities and telepresence. The Society for Arts and Technology is a place of collective learning that holds the promise of exploring technology to infuse it with more meaning, magic and humanity.“ 2 (Discover the SAT | Société Des Arts Technologiques [SAT], n.d.)
The headquarters are inside a three-storey industrial building in central Montreal and encompass a café, workplaces, exhibition halls, a roof terrace and a spherical movie theatre, the Satosphere, on the third floor. Now, this structure has been digitalized and published on Mozilla Hubs as a digital exhibition space. Metaverse visitors can navigate the so-called „Satellite“ from their computer or a VR set and explore the different virtual art spaces that are linked to the Satellite rooms.
Our task was redesigning Satellite and helping it transition to a fully digital space that makes optimal use of the opportunities the Metaverse offers. Key was bringing in a sense of adventure and whimsy so that visitors would feel compelled to explore every nook and cranny and lose themselves in the network of digital worlds.
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FG. 7: SAT Headquarters in Montreal
FG. 8: SAT Headquarters in Montreal
Fg. 9: First floor of Satellite by
Fg. 10: First floor of Satellite by
Fg. 11: Second floor of Satellite by SAT
Fg. 12: Third floor of Satellite by SAT
Visual concept
The original virtual Satellite space was fully integrated into the Mozilla Hubs ecosystem because it is easily accessible not only from specialized VR sets but also from mobile phones and private computers. This convenience, however, also comes at the price of the complexity of the digital models. Most striking are the polygon count and the complexity of textures as factors that can severely restrict the visual appearance.
Thus, we decided early in the process to limit the textures of all our objects to monochromatic white and use a dark backdrop in order to achieve a stark contrast without risking warped or low-resolution shaders. Most of the 3D objects are made out of simple geometric shapes and have a small polycount. Only the big planet in the third world and the hot-air balloon in the second world use a high number of polygons but the worlds are so reduced overall, that these objects pose no issue.
Fg. 13: The only drop of colour is a red thread helping the visitor navigate
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Fg. 14: Everything man-made is white against the dark space backdrop
Fg. 15: Texture through geometry instead of shaders
Fg. 16: One of our key references, the project „Das House 2.0: Inside Kepler‘s garden“ features grey 3D art in an therwise fully black environment
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Guestbook: Build your own planet
In order to create more immersion and give visitors the opportunity to leave their mark in the Satellite, we set up an online guestbook which is accessible through a link in the third Satellite world. On this website, one can design a planet, change its size and customize the textures. It can then be uploaded to Mozilla Hubs as a 3D object within seconds and be pinned into the Satellite until there are hundreds of little colourful planets floating around.
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Fg. 17: Build your own planet
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Functional concept
By now, the Satellite still consists of three worlds, however, they do not fulfil the functions of house floors anymore. Every world is self-sufficient and has its own story, yet all the stories tie in with each other and, together with the overarching visual theme, make up a bigger entity.
The worlds can be accessed through portals in a transporter room which is the same in every world. It is the neutral point that brings everything together and also offers the first glimpse into the new world you are about to enter Every world is littered with portals leading to external art spaces like, for example, „Cassandra Rooms“.
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Fg. 18: Transporter room
Transporter room
External art space
e.g. Cassandra Rooms
External art space
SATELLITE
External art space
External art space
Fg. 19: Functional diagram of the new Satellite space: Every world is made of the main world including the transporter room and portals to other rooms
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Spatial concept
As the original Satellite projects is a carbon copy of the headquarters building in Montreal, it also presents its three floors as separate but connected Mozilla Hubs rooms. This makes navigating the space less intuitive but, on the other hand, enables 75 visitors to simultaneously enter the Satellite as the maximum visitor number per Hubs room is 25. Considering that our project was technically building in the existing (digital) fabric, we had to find a way to respectfully work with the old Satellite while putting a new spin on it. The final solution features three Mozilla Hubs rooms which pick up dominant architectural situations from the old floors and using them in a new way.
THE FIRST WORLD, the brainchild of the first floor, showcases a strikingly big hall. We meander through it and admire the huge columns. Here and there, the walls are broken and one can steal a glimpse into the boundless vastness of space - has there been a crash? Why are there particles floating around everywhere and what happens at the end of the hall?
THE SECOND WORLD picks up the seemingly endless corridor of the second Satellite floor and makes a maze out of it. It quickly transpires that something with the teleportation must have gone wrong! We are now miniscule compared to our surroundings. To make matters even more difficult, this space has the distinct air of a labyrinth about it. Where is what? Was that a whale floating in mid-air and what awaits us at the end of the ominous red thread?
THE THIRD FLOOR uses a more ominous reference: The half-spherical 360° cinema has become a large planet we get to explore. Our odyssey through space nears its end as we approach a giant planet with two rings. It seems like there is something at the back of the planet. Can we risk a look?
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Fg. 20: The first world
Fg. 21: The second world
Fg. 22: The third world
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Fg. 23: The second world
Fg. 25: The second world
Fg. 24: The third world
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Fg. 26: The second world
Fg. 27: The first world
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Fg. 28: The second world
Fg. 29: The first world
Fg. 31: The second world
Fg. 30: The third world
32: The second world
Fg. 33: The second world
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Fg.
Sources
Fg. 1: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 2: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 3: Das HOUSE 2.0—In Keplers Gardens. (n.d.). In Kepler’s Gardens. Retrieved 9 March 2023, from https://ars.electronica.art/keplersgardens/de/ house-2-0/
Fg. 4: Mozilla Hubs. (n.d.). In Kepler’s Gardens. Retrieved 9 March 2023, from https://ars.electronica.art/keplersgardens/de/mozillahubs/
Fg. 5: Cassandra Rooms—AnkeSchiemann. (n.d.). Retrieved 9 March 2023, from https://ankeschiemann.de/Cassandra-Rooms
Fg. 6: Cassandra Rooms—AnkeSchiemann. (n.d.). Retrieved 9 March 2023, from https://ankeschiemann.de/Cassandra-Rooms
Fg. 7: SAT Cafe | Société des arts technologiques [SAT]. (n.d.). Retrieved 15 March 2023, from https://sat.qc.ca/en/sat-coffee
Fg. 8: A Montreal Venue Will Serve Alcohol For 29 Hours Straight On A May Weekend—MTL Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved 15 March 2023, from https://www. mtlblog.com/montreal/a-montreal-venue-will-serve-alcohol-for-29-hoursstraight-on-a-may-weekend
Fg. 9: SAT +1 | Satellite. (n.d.). Retrieved 8 March 2023, from https://satellite. sat.qc.ca/R3koEK5/sat-1
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Fg. 10: SAT +1 | Satellite. (n.d.). Retrieved 8 March 2023, from https:// satellite.sat.qc.ca/R3koEK5/sat-1
Fg. 11: SAT +2 | Satellite. (n.d.). Retrieved 8 March 2023, from https:// satellite.sat.qc.ca/t2G8jdP/sat-2
Fg. 12: SAT+3 | Satellite. (n.d.). Retrieved 8 March 2023, from https:// satellite.sat.qc.ca/XCRHKbC/sat-3
Fg. 13: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 14: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant and Kerem Yilmaz
Fg. 15: 5 Inspiring Galleries Built with Hubs. (2022, January 21). Creator Labs. https://hubs.mozilla.com/labs/5-incredible-art-galleries/
Fg. 16: Das HOUSE 2.0—In Keplers Gardens. (n.d.). In Kepler’s Gardens. Retrieved 9 March 2023, from https://ars.electronica.art/keplersgardens/de/ house-2-0/
Fg. 17: Screenshot, scene created by Baris Özakay
Fg. 18: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 19: Drawing by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 20: Drawing by Carla Sauvant
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Fg. 21: Drawing by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 22: Drawing by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 23: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 24: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 25: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 26: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 27: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant and Kerem Yilmaz
Fg. 28: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 29: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant and Kerem Yilmaz
Fg. 30: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 31: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 32: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Fg. 33: Screenshot, scene built by Carla Sauvant
Src. 1: admin. (2023, January 11). Design in the Metaverse: How to Create Immersive and Engaging Virtual Experiences. Alt Ethos. https://altethos. com/13990-2/
Src. 2: Discover the SAT | Société des arts technologiques [SAT]. (n.d.). Retrieved 8 March 2023, from https://sat.qc.ca/en/discover-the-sat