Interactive scale models and projection mapping
Physical form with information laid over it: a territory, a plant, an object.
Logistics you can see instead of reading about it in a brochure. There is a class of problems where explaining in words always loses: the scale of a territory, how a plant is laid out, the sequence of a construction programme, the flows inside a hub. A slide simplifies it beyond recognition, and an honest diagram becomes unreadable. A physical model with projection solves exactly this: the form gives the scale, the projection gives the layers of meaning on top.
What an interactive model is
A relief or an object built to scale, with an image projected onto it registered precisely to the geometry. The projection does not “show a picture” — it highlights zones, traces routes, switches layers: construction phases, transport, utilities, time of day, a ten-year development scenario. The visitor switches layers themselves, and in that moment the territory becomes legible.
Where it works
- Development territories, industrial sites, logistics hubs, ports — anywhere the decision turns on scale.
- Cities and urban planning: what changes, where and in what order.
- Plants and process chains: how a process works when you cannot see all of it at once.
- Large facilities — airports, stations, stadiums: architecture and the flow of people inside.
- Object mapping: projection onto a product, a façade or an architectural form, when the whole object comes alive.
What is decided at the design stage
Mapping is a discipline where almost everything is settled before the projector is switched on. Model geometry and optics are calculated together: distance and angle decide whether there will be shadows in the recesses and whether there is enough brightness on the light surfaces. Room lighting is half the result — a model placed under a shop window will not be saved by any hardware. So we ask for the room plan and section before we discuss content.
- Geometry: what is actually modelled in three dimensions and what stays flat. Not everything is worth building as relief.
- Projection calculation: how many projectors, mounting positions, overlaps, brightness headroom for the real ambient light.
- Content layers: which stories live on the model and how you move between them.
- Control: an operator console, buttons at the model, a tablet, presence sensors or voice — chosen for whoever will actually use it.
- On-site calibration. Registering projection to form happens only on location, and it is a stage of its own, not the last half hour of installation.
On reliability
Projection drifts from vibration, from a lamp change, from the model being nudged during cleaning. We fix the geometry, keep calibration profiles and leave a restoration instruction on site — so realigning does not require flying in the developer.
Projectors and media servers: what mapping actually needs →
How many people saw it
- 2M visitors in eight months
Russian Industry - 600,000 visitors to the exhibition
Russian Airports - 200,000 visitors to the forum programme
Urban Forum 2018
Projects where we have done this
- COALCO Dry Port — Interactive installation and 3D film
- Russian Industry — Interactive installations · Russia Expo
- Russian Airports — International airports · Russia Expo
- Urban Forum 2018 — Multimedia booth for the Moscow City Government
Frequently asked questions
Does the room need to be fully dark?
No, but lighting has to be planned. Controlled light in the model zone and no direct daylight on it are essential; a fully blacked-out hall is not. If the room is bright it is solved with brightness and surface material — but it must be solved before equipment is ordered.
Why is an interactive model better than a large screen?
Scale and physicality. A screen shows an image of a territory; a model gives you the territory — you can walk around it, point at it, discuss it two or three people at a time. For a group conversation, and decisions about territories are made by groups, that difference is fundamental.
Can the content be updated later?
Yes, if it is designed that way: layers and data are kept separate from geometry. A development programme changes, and the model’s content has to change with it without rebuilding the relief.
How long does it take?
Our projects of this class have taken two to three months. The long pole is not the projection but the fabrication of the model itself, which money cannot compress the way it can compress development.