Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Responsive technology for a personalised experience
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Overview
The visitors’ centre at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque expresses the values of tolerance, openness, and unity as guiding lights for the Muslim community around the world. Five galleries trace Islamic cultural enlightenment, artistic expression, architectural forms, and scientific endeavour across the centuries, and the globe.
We created and lead a multitude of digital activations that illuminate the historical and cultural context in ways that both respect and reflect the materiality of the Mosque. Presented in seven languages, the digital exhibits include cutting-edge visualizations, interactive exhibits, proprietary tracking software, and immersive storytelling. This project was an opportunity for ngx to take the lead on large-scale immersive interactive storytelling.
Scope Highlights
- 360° Immersive Theatre
- Particle Mapping
- Original Films
- Placemaking Interactives
We’d like to thank our project partners:
A Responsive Particle Journey
The Mosque visitor centre’s immersive central space, “Diya”, harnesses a particle-based visual language that expresses celestial light taking architectural form. Projected animations fill the walls and floor of the 360-degree space. Visitors catalyze dramatic audiovisual transformations as they shift through an environment that responds to their movements. The show moves from the celestial void, to the geography of the UAE, and the architectural expression of the Mosque, to create an immersive experience of wonder and creation.
Photo credit: Andrew Lee
Photo credit: Seeing Things
Photo credit: Seeing Things
Seeds of Tolerance is a large-scale exhibit with an ornate visual language that seamlessly integrates touch, projection, and gesture. This immersive space, built in the Unreal Engine, is fully responsive to visitor presence by integrating a proprietary AI-powered infrared camera-based tracking system and projectors. Visitors can design and customize a flower—inspired by the Mosque’s incredible murals—before publishing it to a 60 ft collective mural. The digital artwork is responsive, with the vines swaying in response to the movement of passing visitors.
Photo credit: Andrew Lee
Photo credit: Seeing Things
Photo credit: Seeing Things
A physical-digital astrolabe exhibit activates dynamic digital ceiling projections that show techniques used by ancient astronomers. ngx also integrated a museum-wide solution for digital labels for each artefact, including text, imagery, dynamic projection onto complex 3D miniature models, and Pepper’s Ghost holographs to display precious artifacts. From realtime generative graphics in Unreal to a proprietary AI-powered motion tracking systems, we embraced the latest technology to deliver a dazzling experience.
