The OperaLab Design of identity/Identity of design competition was organized in order to select the best design of the mobile pavilion for the Grand Theatre – National Opera. The jury have selected 10 finalists out of more than 100 submitted projects. The winning designs were presented at the post-competition exhibition which took place between 17 and 31 May 2013 in the Redutowe Rooms of the Grand Theatre – National Opera. Due to the fact that the institution of the Grand Theatre – National Opera is deeply steeped in tradition, whereas the main sponsor – BMW – endorses various forms of innovation, preparing the scenography for the event proved to be quite a challenge. Anyone who is coming to an architectural exhibition probably expects a familiar set of elements: presentation boards, descriptions, and – in the best possible scenario – mock-ups and models. Visitors to the OperaLab exhibition were in for a big surprise, as what they entered seemed to be a white, empty space filling the bottom half of the Redutowe Rooms. By "inserting" ascetic forms into this classical interior the creators of the scenography of the exhibition perversely referred to the concept of the white cube. The visitors were led into the Redutowe Rooms down a white tapering corridor. Having passed the narrowing, every visitor was supplied with a tablet and instructions. Then the visitors entered a room with ten pedestals decorated with minimalist graphics. The only way for the user to learn about the unique character of the exhibition was to point the tablet’s camera in the direction of the patterns presented on the boxes. What appeared on the device’s screen were animated three-dimensional models of the final pavilions created in the Augmented Reality technology. The AR technology combines the real world with a virtual, computer-generated one. It affords an opportunity to present three-dimensional objects "inserted" in the real space. Additionally, AR allows one to meticulously capture every single detail of the design, use real materials and watch it from any angle. The application that had been created for the purposes of the OperaLab exhibition also added a layer of interaction which helped to show different variants of the designs and breathe life into them, e.g. in the form of walking people. Displaying pavilion mock-ups by means of the augmented reality technology made it possible to animate the static models. This was particularly important due to the fact that during the OperaLab Design of identity /Identity of design competition the best mobile pavilion design had been selected. After clicking on the screen, the visitor could view alternate versions of the selected pavilions, their assemblage method, etc. It was also possible to “take a peek” inside each of the designed building by holding the tablet close to the virtual mock-up. The scenography of the exhibition was entirely made of white laminated Pfleiderer MFP boards. The minimalist construction was 280 cm high and it formed a line dividing the height of the Redutowe Rooms in half. Above the white planes of the walls one could see the tops of columns and balcony balusters of the neoclassical interior’s gallery. The entrance part of the exhibition was complemented with illuminated inscriptions created by means of CNC milling. Behind the high entrance wall at the end of the corridor, the visitors could receive and return their tablets. The composition’s final touch were the half-cut display boxes. The artwork of the exhibition and the catalogue design was prepared by the Super Super studio. The neoclassical Redutowe Rooms of the National Opera are a unique place. By contrasting them with a futuristic exhibition, an entirely new space was created where the viewers could immerse themselves in a virtual world. Project name OperaLab, design of the post-competition exhibition Design Bridge Design & Technology Research Bureau Team Hanna Kokczyńska Jacek Majewski Mikołaj Molenda Jarosław Nowotka Michał Piasecki
