ENERGYM
Visitors are quickly turned into an “energy maker” once they enter ENERGYM. Their physical movements are tracked through a wristband and translated into a virtual energy storage system.
Agency
23Design
Cogitoimage International Co., Ltd
Practice Area
Client
Taiwan Power Company
Industry
The Challenge
The team transformed a 4,580 square foot space to demonstrate the beauty and sustainability of renewable energy through interactive technology. The major challenge of this project was disseminating knowledge about power generation and renewable energy into multiple experiences in audio-visual and interactive forms for visitors of all ages.
Project Vision
The idea behind ENERGYM is for visitors to connect micro individual wellbeing to macro environmental health. The team began working on this project in June 2018 upon the request of the sole energy provider in Taiwan. The company has actively engaged in public art, cultural and creative events, and exhibitions to educate Taiwanese citizens about the global transition in energy production. Aiming to transform itself from an electricity supplier into an advocate for smart living and sustainability, the client established a futuristic and technological creative hub in 2020.
In face of the increasing emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases, this installation prompts visitors to take a rest here to allow the overburdened Earth to restore its balance.
Cogitoimage International Co., Ltd, 23Design
By registering personal energy symbols via the wristband, the visitors can immerse themselves in the mesmerizing world created by the interactive installations.
Cogitoimage International Co., Ltd, 23Design
This installation invokes the metaphor of basketball shooting to represent electrons and holes in semiconductors, thereby helping visitors grasp how photovoltaics work; that is, how light is converted into electricity.
Cogitoimage International Co., Ltd, 23Design
Design + Execution
As the world turns its eyes to energy efficiency and sustainability issues, the team and the client created this forward-thinking space as the epitome of science and technology embodied in a playful and interactive exhibit design. Going to the gym is a growing trend and a shared experience for many. Thus, the team transformed different gym equipment to allow visitors to learn how green energy is generated through physical movement.
Each visitor receives a tracking wristband and selects a personal energy symbol. The tracker records movements in an energy storage system; the visitor can discharge that accumulated energy and convert it to an immersive digital experience through interactive projection mapping at the final stop of the journey.
The visitors need to create waves through a battle rope workout, and this installation transforms the potential energy, reciprocating force and buoyancy of the waves into electricity.
Cogitoimage International Co., Ltd, 23Design
The visitors paddle the bikes mimicing geothermal probes aiming to discover the hot water stored deep in Earth’s crust and transform it into steam as a source of electric energy.
Cogitoimage International Co., Ltd, 23Design
Visitors manipulate the future smart grid by turning the energy cubes on the Light Table.
Cogitoimage International Co., Ltd, 23Design
This installation captures real-time power generation data on the wind, solar and water power plants of the our clinet, and transforms the data into images of energy fluctuations.
Cogitoimage International Co., Ltd, 23Design
Project Details
I thought ENERGYM looked really fun. The interactives were smart, engaging, and well executed, so that visitors could embody the principles being taught and understand them not just intellectually, but also through their physical experience.
ENERGYM is compelling on so many different levels: it educates the public on the crucial and existential climate crisis; it thoughtfully curates the visitor experience with a set of limited and carefully calibrated activities; it merges science and art, educating visitors as they move their own bodies; it connects the individuals' energy (physical and political) to community and global impact. Often, game-ified experiences can feel rudimentary or undignified. In contrast, this project seems to be charting a new pathway for public education and engagement.
Design Team
Chiao-Chun Su (creative director)
Chien-Fang Yeh (project manager)
Wen-Yung Chiu
Yi-Shiuan He
Po-Yuan Huang
IF Plus (programmer)
Wei-Hsiang Hsieh (visual design)
Angoo Chen (visual design)
Yi-Chin Ryu (visual design)
Wei-Hsiang Hsieh (motion design)
Mei-Hsin Fan (motion design)
Hsin-Chih Wang (mechanical engineering)
Chi-Tsung Chen (hardware integration)
Shu-Wei Li (hardware integration)
David Y.M. Liu (space planning and on-site construction)
Tony C.L. Tsai (space planning and on-site construction)
Bungawaty Kosasih (space planning and on-site construction)
Collaborators
Shu-Chang Kung (architect)
Kuang-Min Chang (art consultant)
Photo Credits
Cogitoimage International Co., Ltd, 23Design (photography)
23Design (video)
Open Date
January 2020