Studio-021
Product design and engineering

Pozo de Vidrio

An interactive installation that lets visitors peek into a school at the bottom of the ocean and experience Galician folklore

Type Project
Client Xunta de Galicia/Auditorio de Galicia

Overview

For an exhibition celebrating Galician cultural heritage at the Auditorio de Galicia, we created “Pozo de Vidrio” (Glass Well)—an interactive installation bringing to life the Galician legend of a village school submerged beneath ocean waves. Visitors peer into a physical well structure and experience a mechatronic storytelling system that merges folklore with contemporary technology.

Cultural Context

Galician folklore is rich with stories of sunken villages, underwater bells, and lost communities beneath the waves. These tales reflect the region’s deep connection to the Atlantic Ocean and themes of memory, loss, and persistence. The challenge was translating these atmospheric narratives into a physical, interactive experience that honors the source material while engaging contemporary audiences.

Challenge

Creating an installation that:

  • Evokes the mystery and atmosphere of underwater folklore
  • Provides interactive engagement without breaking immersion
  • Functions reliably in a high-traffic public exhibition (projected 10,000+ visitors)
  • Accommodates visitors of all ages with varying physical abilities
  • Tells a coherent narrative through mechatronic and sensory elements

Solution

We designed a 2-meter diameter well structure housing a mechatronic diorama representing the sunken school. The installation combines:

Physical Structure

  • Stone-clad well exterior (authentic Galician stonework aesthetic)
  • Viewing window at waist height with controlled sightlines
  • Ambient ocean soundscape (waves, underwater acoustics, distant bells)

Mechatronic Diorama

  • Miniature schoolroom scene with animated elements
  • Articulated figures representing students and teacher
  • Motorized objects (books, chalkboard, lanterns) creating subtle movement
  • Servo-controlled lighting simulating underwater caustics and depth
  • Submerged vegetation (kelp, seaweed) with fluid motion

Interactive System

  • Proximity sensors detect when visitors approach
  • Interaction triggers narrative sequence: school “awakens” from dormancy
  • Choreographed movement: figures animate, lights shift, objects float
  • Audio narrative (voiceover in Galician + Spanish) telling the legend
  • 3-minute narrative loop, resetting for next visitor

Technical Implementation

  • Motion Control: 18 servo motors orchestrating figure movement, object positioning
  • Lighting: DMX-controlled LED system with color mixing and dynamic patterns
  • Audio: Spatial audio system with directional speakers and subwoofers (underwater rumble)
  • Sensors: IR proximity detection + capacitive touch points for interaction triggers
  • Control System: Raspberry Pi running custom Python sequencer coordinating all elements
  • Enclosure: IP54-rated housing protecting electronics from humidity, dust

Visitor Experience

The experience unfolds in stages:

  1. Discovery: Visitors notice the well structure, ambient ocean sounds
  2. Approach: Proximity sensors detect presence, lighting subtly brightens
  3. Engagement: Visitor looks through viewing window into diorama
  4. Activation: School scene animates—figures move, objects float, narrator begins
  5. Narrative: 3-minute story told through synchronized motion, lighting, and audio
  6. Reflection: Scene gradually returns to dormant state as visitor departs

Exhibition Performance

During 8-week exhibition run:

  • 12,000+ visitors experienced the installation
  • Zero unscheduled downtime (maintenance-free operation)
  • Consistently rated as “most memorable exhibit” in visitor surveys (78% top rating)
  • Featured in regional media coverage of the exhibition
  • Extended display period requested by Auditorio de Galicia

Cultural Impact

The installation successfully bridged traditional folklore and contemporary experience design. Older visitors connected with childhood memories of these stories, while younger audiences engaged with the narrative through interactive technology. The mechatronic elements didn’t overwhelm the folklore—they served it, creating an experience that felt magical rather than merely technical.

Key Innovation

Many interactive museum installations prioritize technology display over narrative. “Pozo de Vidrio” inverts this: the mechatronics are invisible until they need to be, serving the story rather than showcasing technical capability. The well’s aesthetic is deliberately traditional, creating dissonance when the interior reveals its animated complexity. This contrast enhances the sense of magic and mystery central to the folklore.

Design Philosophy

The project embodies a principle: the best interactive installations make technology feel like magic by hiding complexity beneath narrative purpose. Every servo movement, lighting cue, and audio element was designed not to impress with technical sophistication but to serve emotional storytelling.

The result is an installation that children remember as “the magical underwater school” and adults appreciate as sophisticated mechatronic storytelling—both responses valid, neither wrong.

Preservation

Following the exhibition, the installation was acquired by Auditorio de Galicia for their permanent collection. It now serves as part of their cultural heritage programming, introducing new generations to Galician folklore through interactive experience.