The Exhibition: Immersive Sensory Spaces
The Rewire exhibition was conceptualized as a journey that would challenge sensory perception and adaptability. At its core, the design focused on two interconnected spaces: the Black Room and the Dark Tunnel, each offering unique ways to engage with sensory exploration.
The Black Room: Reflection, Learning, and Immersion
Designed as an all-black, comfortable living room, the space removed visual distractions to emphasize sound and texture. The minimalist aesthetic invited visitors to focus on the sensory and intellectual aspects of the experience, providing a moment of calm before or after the immersive Dark Tunnel.
Informational Features
The Black Room was designed as an educational space, where visitors could gain a deeper understanding of the project's purpose and context. In order to achieve this, the space would contain a number of informational elements:
Screens with Animations
Dynamic animations played on screens, visually explaining the key concepts of sensory adaptation, echolocation, and the scientific principles behind the Rewire project.
Posters
Informative posters would be displayed around the room, providing concise and accessible explanations of the research and inspiration behind the exhibition.
Documentation
A detailed printed documentation of the project would be available for visitors to explore. This resource included all aspects of the project, from its conceptualization and research to its design and implementation.
The Virtual Reality Feature
The VR Echolocation Experience
A highlight of the Black Room is the VR Echolocation Experience, which recreated the physical room in a completely dark digital environment. Visitors experienced the space through the perspective of an echolocating blind person, where clicking sounds were translated into light patterns that rippled across walls and objects, visualizing soundwaves.
The VR environment was carefully crafted by photographing the physical space and using precise measurements to recreate it as a 3D model in Blender. Animated textures created in After Effects were embedded into the VR program (Unity 3D) to bring the soundwave visualisations to life.
The Dark Tunnel: Immersive Sensory Exploration
The Dark Tunnel was the core immersive experience of the Rewire exhibition, designed to challenge participants’ sensory perception and adaptability. Although the final implementation was scaled down due to resource and budget constraints, it retained its essential elements and successfully created an impact on visitors.
Final Design and Implementation
The Dark Tunnel was realized as a 3 x 3 meter passage with two distinct sections, each offering a drastically different sensory experience:
First Section of the Tunnel
This area featured wood and metal structures with highly reflective surfaces. These materials amplified sound, creating sharp echoes that made the space feel smaller and more confined than it actually was.
Second Section
In contrast, this section used sound-absorbing materials that completely muted the environment, making the space feel much larger than it actually was and forcing visitors to rely even more on touch and spatial awareness to navigate.
Conclusion of a journey
The Rewire exhibition transformed sensory adaptation from an abstract concept into a tangible experience. Through the Black Room and the Dark Tunnel, visitors explored how perception can change and adapt, gaining new insights into the flexibility of the human senses.
Despite the limitations of scale and resources, the exhibition succeeded in making an impact. It combined education and immersion to spark curiosity, provoke reflection, and start conversations about how we perceive and interact with the world.
