Otherworldly Expedition: The Sentient City

The design process was extensive as the project narrative spans multiple platforms. It began with attentive walks in the Otway Forest, Victoria to observe the local habitat and research endangered species. These walks and research led me to further walks at Yarra Bend Park to observe the habitat of flying fox colony that roosts in River Red Gums and Yellow Box trees along the Birrarung (Yarra) riverbank. Seeing the bats emerge from daytime sleep and their noisy chatter influenced decisions to choose the event’s time and location situated near the bats in the late afternoon.

Using the Yarra Bend bat colony as this project’s key species, I developed a speculative futuristic film of a city devoid of trees. The process involved iterative sketches and narratives, 3D modelling and animation. The decision to select a female bat/human as a central protagonist was based on the desire to challenge conventional approaches, which often underrepresent women futurists in films and games.

LiDAR scanning was discovered as an effective method to digitise the existing bat habitat. Using this technology, 3D scans of trees were taken from both the Otway and Yarra Bend Park. These scans were converted into point clouds and particle systems and animated using game engine software. The animation process was informed by scientific research on echolocation, a navigation technique used by many bat species

The pavilion’s forms, methods of construction and materials selection were based on the the film’s narrative.

Prototypes of VR helmets were developed through iterative form testing and materials selection. The helmet housing the VR headset was made from a cardboard armature and cotton fabric, sewn with fallen gum leaves collected after rain near the bats to simulate eucalyptus smells. The chia moss grown on another helmet represents the furry texture of bat hair without using synthetic fabrics.

The project narrative spans multiple platforms across futuristic film and VR immersive experience, unfolds in two chapters, in an event beginning late afternoon in March. The setting is the Bellbird Picnic area, along the banks of the Birrarung Marr (Yarra River) where thousands of Grey-headed flying foxes live River Red Gums (Eucalyptus Camaldulensis) and Yellow Box (Eucalyptus Melliodora). The project is centred on user experience and begins with a process of immersion in 3 parts:

Part 1: Pavilion - Short film - potential future deforestation Guided by actors, the audience departs from the real world and enters the temporary pavilion. They first pass through a door into a dark passageway, which serves as a threshold leading to an orange-lit desert scene. This environment is designed to elicit feelings of grief and a sense of loss for a world that once was. The audience then views a short film depicting a future city that has succumbed to climate change and deforestation.

Part 2: Attunement walk to the bat’s home After viewing the short film/animation and exiting the pavilion, the audience is led on a twilight walk along the riverbank to the bat habitat and viewing platform. The slow walk is designed to help immerse the audience through sound, smell, touch and close observation.

Part 3: VR Experience: In the late afternoon as the bats emerge from their daytime sleep, where they engage in loud and lively chatter. In this area, the audience arrives at the VR experience viewing area that is amplified by the smell and sounds of the bat site including guano and eucalypts. The VR experience incorporating LiDAR scan animation highlights details of a bat’s habitat through their vision, allowing participants to perceive the world from a bat’s perspective, fostering empathy and a deeper understanding of ecological interdependence.

The Otherworldly Expedition project spans multiple disciplines and design practices, utilising various software platforms. Its primary goal is to make the abstract concept of climate change more tangible and personally relevant through immersive ecological experiences amplified by VR technologies. Otherworldly Expedition innovatively combines digital LiDAR filmmaking techniques with immersive theatre to convey part of the complex story of deforestation and species decline. This approach expands the scope of advocacy to include ecological care for habitats and promotes the role of women futurists in design. By immersing the audience in the narrative, the project transforms them into active participants in the story.

By merging the fields of spatial design with digital narrative practices and technologies this project offers a novel approach to environmental advocacy. The design impact is highlighted through the potential of immersive experiences situated within multispecies habitats, to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of our ecological intricacies and human-non-human interrelationships. The project emphasises the need for understanding and addressing environmental issues from a non-anthropocentric perspective, embracing complexity, uncertainty, non-binary thinking and feeling into the wonders of our shared world.