IMMERSIVE DESIGN
Visitors to Gardens by the Bay in Singapore are completely removed from the nearby city
foundations of the space. Designers need to meet and surpass these expectations. The key to immersion lies in the subjective territory of “what the stars will bring”.
A designer does not have to read the work of philosophers, but might benefit by thinking through the most intimate, even existential, needs of the visitor
There is something there
Consider differences: Every visitor brings their own backstory. A veteran will have a different experience in a war museum to someone who hasn’t experienced war. It’s impossible to consider 124 CLADglobal.com
all viewpoints, but it’s worth considering different angles when telling a story in a space. Another option is to leave the meanings within a space open, allowing guests to reach their own understandings. Don’t underestimate the visitor’s knowledge or experience: Don’t assume that the “typical” guest is looking for an uncomplicated and superficial time. In fact, more and more guests are desirous of experiences that speak to their intelligence, knowledge and cultural backgrounds. Immersive experiences may place greater demands on the visitor, but such demands may actually increase the levels of connection that the visitor feels with the space. Immersion isn’t always positive: Many powerful museums and interpretive centres have illustrated that the emotions that connect guests to spaces do not have to be positive ones. Dark tourism and the desire to experience immersion at disturbing and existential levels show the need to consider all options and emotional potentials when designing or updating a space.
Keys to immersion Cultural anthropologists often refer to the emic – or insider – perspective. This is the view of culture and everyday life as a person from the culture that the anthropologist is studying would view it. Most anthropologists would agree that the emic perspective is gained through years and years of living among the people in that culture – also called immersion. Designers of themed spaces can reflect on these ideas from cultural anthropology, a few approaches that may assist in effective attention to the immersion of a guest.
1
Theming: Theming is perhaps the most evocative design approach of the contemporary leisure world. Themeing relies on a familiar and memorable theme or story – such as the Wild West – to offer the visitor a sense of an other, fantasy world. Themeing has great potential for immersive effects because of its ability to create and maintain an entire world. At the same time, because of the popularity of themeing, contemporary designers need be aware of how to avoid forms of themeing that seem old-fashioned, staid or artificial.
CLAD book 2017
PHOTOS: B. Handke
Years ago, I was struck by the fact that in the theme park industry we rarely reflected on whether guests were truly being immersed in a space. We developed guest-first approaches that met their foundational needs – any employee could direct the visitor to the restroom or café – yet we failed to consider the visitor’s desire. For the visitor, the difference in reactions relates to the sense that – not unlike the participants in the Jejune Institute – there is something there, something more that beckons them. The guests want to stay until the last minute a place closes because they feel they are a part of it. Of course, achieving the state in which the visitor feels such a close and personal connection with a space is perhaps the greatest of all challenges that are faced in themed and immersive design. Here are a few ideas that may speak to the ultimate desire to immerse guests within a space.