2024

Digital Placemaking:
Create deeper engagements with purpose

5 important ways to foster connections between people and place

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Our digital placemaking experts have the answers to your technical and creative questions.

Talk to us now and book your free 30 mins consultation with one of our experts to discuss the role of digital placemaking, tools and technologies, experiences and how we can solve your digital placemaking needs.
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Create deeper engagements
with purpose

Digital placemaking offers unique opportunities for you to build memorable multisensory experiences, bridging connection with your audiences across any of your public spaces.

WHAT IS DIGITAL PLACEMAKING?
To enhance public spaces through technology inspired solutions that improves community engagement, dwell times and deeper, more meaningful connections between people and place.
FUTURELABS IS YOUR PARTNER TO DELIVER ALL FORMS OF DIGITAL PLACEMAKING EXPERIENCES.
We collaborate with our clients to produce world class solutions and problem solve challenges big and small.
Headshot of Pat Mileto, Co-Founder of FutureLabs
Emma Shearman

General Manager of Placemaking

Headshot of Pat Mileto, Co-Founder of FutureLabs
Pat Mileto

Production Director

Book a complimentary 30min consultation with our placemaking experts.

Get ready to take your upcoming project to the next level! Find out more tips, tools and exciting potential of the digital placemaking space with us.  

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In our ever-evolving public spaces, digital placemaking continues to be a driver of innovation, enabling stronger connections between people and place.
Throughout the world, a movement has emerged in how people experience our public spaces — not just in urban centres, but in rural communities as well. Local governments, developers, environmentalists and urban planners are looking to improve the experience of places, and uncover local stories that sit beneath our built landscapes. As a result, digital placemaking has emerged as a powerful tool due to the versatile ways it can be integrated into the environment and experienced any time. Let’s dive in!
1

Interactive &
Multisensory Experiences

TELLING STORIES WITH SOUND, LIGHT AND TACTILITY CREATES MORE ACCESSIBLE EXPERIENCES
In placemaking, integrating multisensory experiences is a powerful approach for enriching community connections and ensuring inclusivity. Leveraging all five senses can transform spaces into memorable and engaging environments that narrate more compelling, more personal and more accessible stories.
By designing with multiple senses in mind, we facilitate broader participation, accommodating individuals of all abilities. This type of inclusive design enables full engagement for all individuals, including those with hearing or vision impairments. Digital placemaking provides the necessary technological tools to do so.
PRACTICE 1 — Interactive & Multisensory Experiences

Examples

RUNNING STORIES — AUGMENTED AUDIO EXPERIENCE
Using real-time data, the runner’s surroundings are analysed to determine the storyline. Elements such as the running speed, location, and weather are used to influence the pace of the story, placing the runner at the centre as the main character.
MID-AMERICA SCIENCE MUSEUM TREEHOUSE
With ambient music playing softly, the treehouse combines the natural scents of its surroundings with the fresh smell of rain, created by spray misters. These misters also create fog and mimic the sensation of light rain on the visitor’s skin creating a dreamlike atmosphere in the area.

What does the
research say?

90% are more likely to revisit
90% of surveyors say they’re more likely to revisit organisations that leverages music, visuals and scent. This is particularly true for those in Australia, as well as Spain, China, the US and the UK.
78% are influenced by atmosphere
78% of surveyors say an enjoyable in-store atmosphere plays a key factor in opting to make selections physically vs. online. This is particularly those for people in Australia, as well as Spain, China, the US and the UK.
2

Dynamic Content

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE UNLOCKS A WAY TO REFRESH A SPACE WITH EVER-EVOLVING CONTENT
The biggest potential for digital infrastructure (such as outdoor-grade LED screens or mobile experiences) is that they create a public canvas that can change, grow and evolve over time with the community around it. This increases both engagement and the lifespan of a placemaking initiative.
Dynamic content can take multiple forms: data-driven art, wayfinding or announcements and more. By integrating sensors and the cloud to creatively represent data, public artworks can help foster a sense of pride and belonging among local communities.
PRACTICE 2 — Dynamic Content

Examples

“WIND OF LILYDALE” — WEATHER AI DATA PAINTING
Installed on the train station’s lift shaft, the multi-faceted artwork is based on the real-time weather data from the Lilydale region. It translates wind speed, direction, gust patterns and temperature to a fluid motion through an algorithm, symbolising the dynamic interactions between the environment and the city.
MOTHER EARTH — SCIENTIFIC VISUALISATION
Mother Earth turns 40 years of Singapore’s environmental data, like air quality and CO2 levels, into art at the ArtScience Museum. Numbers are transformed into visual elements like particles in different size, colour and motion, illustrating their interconnectedness and impact over time.
Credit: Ouchhh

What does the
research say?

61% prefer personalised experiences
According to recent studies, 61% of consumers prefer personalised experiences. By incorporating geolocation data into community building efforts, businesses can tap into this preference, resulting in higher user satisfaction and engagement.
Customisable Content
Dynamic content allows for variable content, and can break down decision silos through community-based participation at its center, and can capitalise on a local community's assets, inspiration, and potential, resulting in the creation of quality public spaces that contribute to people's health, happiness, and well being.
3

Intergenerational Play

ENHANCING PLAY WITH A TOUCH OF SOPHISTICATION ATTRACTS FAMILIES
Playgrounds were once the child’s domain, overseen by coffee-toting adults ensuring the safety of their little ones. With the emergence of digital technologies — and our aforementioned multisensory experiences — urban digital playgrounds have created a place for families to enjoy multigenerational activities together.
By enabling better stories with layers of sound, visuals and tactility — as well as the curiosity spiked by interactive technology such as sensors — older generations are finding enjoyment in the added level of sophistication of these experiences. With clever design, they become great attractions for families.
PRACTICE 3 — Intergenerational Play

Examples

THE POOL — JUMP, DANCE, WALK ON INTERACTIVE PADS
The Pool features 106 pads that change colours with interaction, creating a swirling light effect. The pads respond to pressure, and as people step on the pads, the ripples of light are influenced by the intensity of their pressure. The Pool has been showcased at over sixty exhibition venus across 20+ countries.
FLOW — COMPOSE LIGHT AND SOUND WITH MOVEMENT
Designed for the ‘lolani School, the interactive sculpture features twenty-four light tubes that illuminate and emit harmonious tones as children move below them. Triggering a tube changes the overall colour palette and musical tones, inviting children to interact with art in a playful and creative way.

What does the
research say?

Growing demand for multigenerational spaces
The global population aged 60 years or over numbered 962 million in 2017, more than twice as large as in 1980! The number of older persons is expected to double again by 2050, when it is projected to reach nearly 2.1 billion. Accordingly, interest in using intergenerational strategies to create relevant community programs and social policy is growing.
Digital technology affects how we experience our surroundings
Digital placemaking help establish hybrid experiences in a place. The increased attention to nature-based technologies and the implementation of digital tools to enhance design solutions for healthy environments. Technology could act, not only as a tool within Nature Based Solutions, but also as an enhancer of its long-term relationships and impacts on the community.
4

Unique Digital Displays

INCREASINGLY AFFORDABLE CUSTOM DISPLAYS CAN INTEGRATE SEAMLESSLY WITH AN ARCHITECTURAL VISION
Digital placemaking doesn’t need to be difficult, and installing a uniquely sized digital display to an existing architectural design can create a platform for engaging content that enhances the space. In this section, we’ll look at digital displays that act as media facades and add digital interactivity to the built environment.
They become a way to augment the spatial design, adding yet another layer to overall experience. Tightly controlled colour palettes that change over time can act as shifting paint colours, all within the bounds of the overarching creative vision, but critically becoming a tool to enable ‘living’ or ‘evolving’ spaces.
PRACTICE 4 — Unique Digital Displays

Examples

+POOL LIGHT — LED SCULPTURE FLOATS IN WATER
The 50x50 foot plus-shaped light in the East River, NYC, changes colour based on water conditions: blue for safe swimming with pathogens, pink for unsafe levels. The brightness and frequency also adjust based on the flow of current and oxygen levels.
Credit: + POOL
THE ORCHARD — LED RIBBON AT HAMAD AIRPORT
The Orchard is a indoor tropical garden and water feature at Doha’s Hamad International airport with the 1.2-kilometer LED ribbon wrapped around the airport across two storeys. It features multiple themes such as luxe botanical elements, Qatar Sands of Time, embodying the culture of Qatar.

What does the
research say?

Embracing interactive architecture
“Architecture has to couple with the human and societal demand for media interactivity and digital technology in transforming the design and construction of the built environment. The concept of interactive architecture is now a reality and will develop as pervasiveness of the individual and group connectivity through digital networks and devices grows.”
68% will live
in urban areas by 2050
Digital displays could be a key approach to improving public spaces and urban nature environments, since sixty-eight per cent of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050.
5

Digital Discovery

WHEN BUDGET OR SPACE LIMITATIONS BECOME A PROBLEM, MOBILE EXPERIENCES BECOME THE SOLUTION
If you have an existing space and are looking for a way to re-engage people, a mobile solution can do just that. Web-based solutions offer great access, while apps can provide better performance and a different feature set. One powerful tool that can enable these experiences is geolocation data, connecting real-world landmarks with people through their mobile devices. These experiences can encourage exploration through spaces, such as visiting one location after another to gradually discover a story. We can integrate sound and visuals as needed, or use the platform as a community engagement tool.
PRACTICE 5 —Digital Discovery

Examples

MERLI’S IMMERSIVE ADVENTURE — AR TOUR
Partnering with the Singapore Tourism Board, Google created a location-based AR guided tour of Singapore’s landmarks and hidden gems. Tourists are invited to explore and engage with Singaporean heritage and contemporary culture from their devices as they journey through the city.
Credit: Google AR
HERITAGE METAVERSE COEXISTENCE
The Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea has digitally resurrected a royal court ceremony from 136 years ago through AR. Through the app, visitors can interact with virtual virtual characters, participate in a treasure hunt for artifacts, and try on ceremonial costumes at the palace.

What does the
research say?

92.3% Internet users
go mobile
Embracing the use of mobile technologies is paramount as usage grows rapidly, over 60% of website traffic comes from mobile devices, 92.3% of internet users access the internet using a mobile phone and there are approximately 4.32 billion active mobile internet users!
Shaping reality through digital
Almost all adults aged 16–44 years used the internet daily while 87% of the population own smartphones. Most citizens interact with the environment through some type of digital device. Thus, digital placemaking has the potential to shape reality in urban spaces, potentially helping people connect with nature for example through augmented reality. When applied to the management of urban nature spaces, it can benefit from measuring performances, supporting decision-making and connecting communities with the spaces in the world of the internet we are living in.

Recent FutureLabs Projects

Our integrated team of technologists, creatives and project managers deliver innovative projects for a range of environments, partnering with architects, industrial designers, urban planners, developers and heritage organisations.
NATURAL LANDSCAPE PILLARS: GPT GROUP
Immigration has been a crucial part of Australia’s history, and Melbourne (Naarm) is a city particularly known for its cultural diversity. With this in mind, GPT Group, who own and manage the Highpoint Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s west, approached us to explore ideas for an ‘experiential outpost’ that celebrates the region’s cultural richness.
DISTILLATION: INTERACTIVE KINETIC SCULPTURE
An immersive and interactive kinetic sculpture that featured 100 copper spheres, mechanically controlled to move into different 3D formations that told a story across three chapters: Place, Process and Heritage.
PRICELESS PLANET AR EXPERIENCE
We created a web-based interactive journey that took people on a tour of Melbourne’s sports precinct, learning about a range of initiatives, art projects and historical facts related to the space. One part of the journey asked people to plan a virtual tree in AR. For each virtual tree planted, a real one was planted as part of a sustainability program.
A laptop with a diagram of an art installation.
Headshot of Pat Mileto, Co-Founder of FutureLabs
Emma Shearman

General Manager of Placemaking

Headshot of Pat Mileto, Co-Founder of FutureLabs
Pat Mileto

Production Director

FutureLabs is your partner to deliver all forms of digital placemaking experiences.

We can discuss the role of digital placemaking in your next project, advising on the tools and technologies to create the deeper engagements to enhance your community.

Book Your Free 30min Session
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