Living City
An immersive data installation at the Auckland War Memorial Museum transforming millions of data points into a visual portrait of Auckland's people, places, environments, and systems.
Rarau mai — Living City is a permanent immersive exhibition within the Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Tāmaki Herenga Waka gallery. The installation uses data visualisation as a creative storytelling medium, transforming millions of data points into a living portrait of Auckland’s people, places, environments, and systems.
Recognition
- Finalist — Victorian Premier Design Awards 2021, Digital Design
- Finalist — Best Design Awards 2021, Installation & Exhibition
The Idea
Most of us generate data every day — through movement, consumption, communication — yet rarely see it. Living City makes this visible. The exhibition draws on census data, GPS tracking, LIDAR imaging, and datasets from Auckland Council, Auckland Transport, NIWA, Stats NZ, and iwi organisations to render the city as a dynamic, living system.
The guiding question was not simply what does the data show, but how can data become a medium for understanding people and place?
Traffic networks and movement across the region.
City population density maps, introducing the demographic section on current and future populations of Auckland.
Interactive touch screen for investigating neighbourhood data, and LIDAR data used to show 3d abstract representations of Auckland environments (urban, landscapes, infrastructure).
Design Approach
The installation is designed for a wide range of visitors — from young children to researchers — using a layered approach to information across four distinct surfaces:
- Floor projections — abstracted, atmospheric visuals that engage younger visitors through movement and colour
- LED tower — minimal, text-based data giving a real-time data presence to the space
- Wall projections — rich visual narratives exploring Auckland’s environments and communities over time
- Interactive touchscreens — deep-dive neighbourhood discovery for visitors wanting to explore specific datasets
A 15-minute spatial soundscape ties these elements together, designed by Marco Cher-Gibard to make the data emotionally resonant and grounded in place. The entire system is driven in realtime, and all graphics are rendered in realtime from data (not video).
Project Team
Design Team: Greg More (OOM Creative), Marco Cher-Gibard (Spatial Sound), Ana Tiquia (Advisory), Michael Dunbar (UX), Chris McDowall (Data Consultant)
AWMM Team: Rebecca Lal, Ben Bradford, Louise Langdon, Guy Annan, Liam Brown, Gilbert Zhao, Kara Woodward, Kelly Skelton
Data Contributors: Auckland Council, Auckland Transport, NIWA, Stats NZ, Te Potiki National Trust.