When the wind turns
Umwelt Arena Spreitenbach

The research groups Renewable Energies and Sustainability Communication of the ZHAW have been commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) to design an exhibition on the topic of "decarbonization" in the Umwelt Arena Schweiz. This exhibition aims to illustrate Switzerland's climate goals and vividly present the possibilities of decarbonization. "When the Wind Turns" uses images, sound and gamification to translate complex scientific facts into atmospheric experiences and provide visitors with an emotional approach to the topic that inspires motivation and action. Upon entering the exhibition, visitors are greeted by the familiar climate stripes that gradually shift to shades of red. An accompanying ambient sound reinforces the distressing atmosphere. Visitors are then encouraged to actively contribute to the energy transition in Switzerland. They can select a card representing one of seven different characters, such as "Janosch, the climate activist," "Carla, the financial expert," or "Lara, the curious child." With these characters, visitors take part in seven different games, all staged in a stylized city using projections. To participate in a game, visitors place the corresponding character card on a designated area. RFID technology identifies them and saves their scores for later analysis. At the "Some like it warm" game station, for example, heat pumps have to be installed in order to collect energy points. Your mission is to move from one building to the next on a bicycle and install as many heat pumps as possible in the shortest possible time. In the process, you get extra points if you overtake the delivery truck loaded with fossil fuel heating systems and arrive before it does. Another game involves placing solar cells on various house roofs in a "Tetris-like" fashion. In addition to the game stations, there are three interactive infographics on buildings, mobility and electricity production. Capacitive sensors are installed behind the wall to trigger different content. The exhibition ends with an optimistic view of the future, accompanied by numerous wind turbines. At this point visitors find the evaluation station, where they can find out how significant their contribution was to the energy transition. A station with the "decarbonization calculator", a complex simulation of different influencing factors, offers the opportunity to deal more intensively with different scenarios.

Tweaklab was responsible for conception (together with ZHAW and Groendlandbasel), for media planning and production, programming and installation of all media installations.

Commission: Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE
Location: Umweltarena Spreitenbach
Scenography: Groenlandbasel
Concept: ZHAW, Groenlandbasel, Tweaklab
Media planning and production: Tweaklab AG, Basel
Exhibition graphics: Hauser, Schwarz GmbH, Basel
Sound design: Michael Bucher, Zurich

Exhibition from June 10, 2023