Exploratorium “Emergence”

Architectural projection mapping of San Francisco's Exploratorium grand opening.

  • Dates: April, 2013
  • Location: Exploratorium, Pier 15, San Francisco, CA, USA
  • Role: Software Director
  • Collaborators:
    • Obscura Digital
    • Garth Williams, Creative Director, Concept & Design
    • Tim Digulla, Art Director
    • Marc Melzer, Director of Media & Art
    • Jennifer Spratt, Producer
    • Susan Ali, Media Producer
    • Matty Dowlen, Head of Production
    • Ana Herruzo, Lead Interactive Engineer
    • Andrew Plourde, Sr. Technical Director
    • Gaston Albanell, Technical Director
    • Bryan Sullivan, Technical Director
    • Tom Sepe, Prototyping and Practical Effects
    • Desmond Shea, Systems Engineer
    • Hoss Ward, Lead Fabricator
    • Phillip Briggs, Director of Photography
    • Jim Ellis, Lead 3D
    • Alexi Alexaieff, Production Artist
    • Joshua Brott, Photography
    • George Rosenthal, Media Technician
    • Sean Holt, Director of IT
    • Travis Threlkel, Founder, Executive Creative Director
    • Dr. Karen Kalumuck Biology Consultation (Exploratorium)
    • Ben Stokes Cinematographer, Designer (Mission Control)
    • Dr. Richard Weinberg, Ph.D. (Digital Cinema Microscopy
    • Darren Kraemer & Saied Rezaei / Attodyne, Inc.
    • Derivative TouchDesigner
    • FLIR Systems, Inc.
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For the grand opening celebration of the Exploratorium’s new location in San Francisco, acclaimed creative technology innovators, Obscura Digital, transform the façade of the historic Pier 15 into a luminous portal revealing unseen dimensions of complex micro and macro phenomena.

Emergence takes people on a dynamic visual journey, evoking a sense of wonder about the nature of order in our universe. To capture these marvels of nature, Obscura designed and fabricated a series of miniature replicas of the Exploratorium’s façade to contain unique experiments involving fluid dynamics, wax liquefaction, particle interactions, microorganisms, living systems, crystallization, and growth in time lapse.

Documented in ultra high definition video, non-computer generated real-life visualizations of compelling natural subjects are projection mapped back on the surface of the building, creating the illusion of being contained within its structure.

Unique, non-digital sounds, arranged and composed by Obscura musicians, converge with their architectural projections to form extraordinary harmonics, elevating the experience to a new level.

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