Benefis Interactive Wall
The Benefis Women's and Children's Center is a state-of-the-art facility providing access to healthcare for women and children in the community.
The center commissioned Float4 to develop an interactive wall in the lobby of its Pediatrics wing. The aim was to comfort patients and their families, as well as the healthcare providers and hospital staff who encounter the wall regularly. Float4's design team developed two concepts for the Benefis Interactive Wall : a forest scape and a flowing river, deploying a simple and intuitive design to transport viewers to the splendor of Montana's great outdoors.
For the interactive river, the team created an aerial view of a flowing river with trout swimming in the stream, a nod to Montana's most common freshwater fish. Once an onlooker approaches the wall, a ripple effect distorts the image and the interactive fish gather where the person stands. From there, the viewer can manipulate the fish in any direction with their movement. If more than one person stands in front of the wall, the school of fish will split apart to ensure total coverage. The fish disperse randomly when the viewer walks away.
The forest's interactive elements, pine cones and leaves, sit in the foreground, a part of the illustrated wilderness that features multiple layers of trees. As a person gets closer to the wall and engages with the leaves, they fuse and mimic the body's movement from left to right. Several people can take part in this interactivity at one time.
Both content pieces of the Benefis interactive wall feature background and foreground imagery of particle shapes and materials animated with movement and speed to create a sense of wonder, a reminder of the simple joys of connecting with nature.
