New York – Creative studio Design I/O has developed and installed Connected Worlds, a large-scale, interactive eco-system, in the New York Hall of Science.
Connected Worlds is an immersive installation consisting of six interactive eco-systems projected onto the floors and walls of the New York Hall of Science. Visitors can interact with the digital projections using physical objects, which have a direct effect on the virtual space.
Physical logs can be placed across digital rivers that flow across the floor of the museum, diverting water to other eco-systems in the building, while seeds can be sown in digital soil. As visitors continue to influence the environment, it begins to bloom and attract new life forms. Visitors are also encouraged to make difficult trade-offs, such as deciding how to direct limited amounts of water across the entire eco-system to maximise impact.
The aim of Connected Worlds is to encourage younger demographics to adopt a Whole-system Thinking approach to sustainability, learning about how a seemingly small action in one environment can have a global impact.
The Big Picture: Whole-system Thinking is being adopted by many brands that are tackling issues of sustainability head on. Read our Whole-system Thinking macrotrend to learn more.