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Water is everything, it is a life force and a source for change. Water is all around us, it is within us and it helps to shape our daily lives. Sometimes we tend to take for granted the power of water, how it molds cliff faces and drives change. Not the Geberit Gruppe, one of the world’s preeminent manufacturers, who sought to honor the natural resource at Milan Design Week.
This immersive video installation was showcased at the prestigious Fuorisalone 2024 in Milan. The Geberit Waterscape, an immersive installation designed by experiential creative director Dario Spinelli, dives into the company’s rich history. With Spinelli at the helm of the creative direction, Geberit looks to honor the natural element which has been central to their company for 150 years. The Italian-born creative director specializes in creating interactive experiences that feel both stylized and alive and with the Waterscape, he mastered both.
The immersive piece was stationed in the Furiosalone 2024, which is at the heart of Milan Design Week every April in Milan, Italy. It is a celebration that Spinelli says “has a rich tradition of presenting installations that blur the line between design and art.” Through a collaboration with creative studio NEO the Italian was able to bring the water theme to life.
In what was a tough balancing act, the creative director had to “give visitors a moment of amazement while seamlessly communicating key messages about the brand and its products.” This he achieved through high quality projected images designed in collaboration with skilled 3D artists to create a dynamic effect that captured the audience’s attention.
The process was not a short one, as it took multiple iterations to get the desired effects down. The main piece of the installation was a whirlpool which was projected onto the ground. “We had to carefully tweak the properties of the water and foam in order to achieve the desired hybrid result,” says Spinelli.
This centerpiece served to draw in casual passersby who perused Milan Design Week. “I believe the sense of otherworldliness played a key role,” said Spinelli, when discussing the dynamic, hypnotic movement of the whirlpool. Grabbing passerby’s attention is always the hard part, but keeping it is paramount.
“This is one of those cases where size matters,” he says when talking about the sheer magnitude of the projections used. “There was something unique about the interplay of the projects and the surrounding space that added to the sense of wonder,” this Spinelli believes added to the sense of wonder drawing people in and taking them on a journey through the company’s history.
How can such a large scale project get done within the time parameters? Luckily with the help of Generative AI, it is possible to quickly visualize and change ideas early on in the project. While Spinelli prefers the traditional 3D pipeline he is encouraged to see the advancements made through AI. However, he notes, ”the 3D pipeline was essential to achieving the specific hybrid aesthetic we wanted, especially in controlling the whirlpool’s movement.”
Spinelli is constantly looking to innovate and change the game, pushing himself to new heights. Whether through challenges such as the Waterscape design or by studying those such as Olafur Eliasson, Anish Kapoor, and more recently Studio Drift, he works to stay on top of cutting edge trends and tech innovation.
He says of Studio Drift: “Their innovative approach to blending organic and digital elements always sparks new ideas for me.” It is this passion for learning that has catapulted Spinelli to new heights, and working with high profile clientele like Ray-Ban, Oakley and Timberland.
Waterscape pays homage to the natural element that has shaped all our lives. Spinelli’s attention to detail led him to creating a truly immersive experience, one where the audience feels as if it is swept up in a whirlpool of water before being transported through 150 years of history at Geberit. We eagerly await his future installations giving us an opportunity to dive head first into whatever scene he digitally creates solely for the purpose of interaction and wonder.
All photos: NEO Narrative Environments Operas
