Virtual Bauhaus
For the 100th anniversary of the BAUHAUS, *Goethe-Institut commissioned a virtual reality exhibition that can be showcased simultaneously worldwide in their institutes, museums of interest, and events like festivals or fairs. The only materials needed for the exhibition are the hardware components, such as a PC and the HTC Vive VR goggles. Cologne Game Lab has developed the VR application on behalf of Goethe-Institut Boston, enabling a virtual tour through the famous Bauhaus building in Dessau.
This research project took two years of development with many experiments and much trial and error within a small dev team of four people. One of the main goals of the project was to achieve a believable, immersive feeling of being there oneself. The famous architecture and classic designs of some of the Bauhaus movement’s luminaries were exposed in stylized, yet very natural, lighting. The result is a scene-based experience consisting of the five most prominent locations at the Bauhaus school in Dessau.
experience
The visitors are invited to explore the school's exterior, to join a preliminary course in the workshop, to observe the students’ lifestyle in the Prellerhaus accommodation wing, to walk up and down the famous Staircase, and to be a part of a stage performance called Mechanical Ballet. Each scene has its own interactive mechanic designed in the context of the showcased location. In addition, a background voice-over tells a short story about the place and about the people who worked within the walls of the school. The visual content, the voice-over, and ideas for interactions were created in association with the Bauhaus experts Jordan Troeller and Robert Huber.
worldwide exposure
The application was translated into seven languages: German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese. In the anniversary year 2019, it was continually exhibited exposed in the major cities of the world. One of my most remarkable journeys with the exhibition (and of all time) was the premiere at SXSW 19 in Austin, Texas.
If you are interested in trying out the experience, please feel free to contact me!
*Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations.
This research project took two years of development with many experiments and much trial and error within a small dev team of four people. One of the main goals of the project was to achieve a believable, immersive feeling of being there oneself. The famous architecture and classic designs of some of the Bauhaus movement’s luminaries were exposed in stylized, yet very natural, lighting. The result is a scene-based experience consisting of the five most prominent locations at the Bauhaus school in Dessau.
experience
The visitors are invited to explore the school's exterior, to join a preliminary course in the workshop, to observe the students’ lifestyle in the Prellerhaus accommodation wing, to walk up and down the famous Staircase, and to be a part of a stage performance called Mechanical Ballet. Each scene has its own interactive mechanic designed in the context of the showcased location. In addition, a background voice-over tells a short story about the place and about the people who worked within the walls of the school. The visual content, the voice-over, and ideas for interactions were created in association with the Bauhaus experts Jordan Troeller and Robert Huber.
worldwide exposure
The application was translated into seven languages: German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese. In the anniversary year 2019, it was continually exhibited exposed in the major cities of the world. One of my most remarkable journeys with the exhibition (and of all time) was the premiere at SXSW 19 in Austin, Texas.
If you are interested in trying out the experience, please feel free to contact me!
*Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations.
VR exhibition
2017-2019
2017-2019
project lead
art director
@
Cologne Game Lab
for
Goethe-Institut
visit colognegamelab.de
Feasibility Study
Before the dev team started with the final application process, we made some drafts exploring the visual style, core interactions (locomotion, UI, and navigation) and presentation of informational context with voice-over, video, or text elements. In the feasibility study, we reconstructed the Meisterhaus – an extant building in Dessau designed by the Bauhaus director, Walter Gropius.
