Organisation

Science in the shop window

There is no way of knowing from the outside what goes on inside the buildings on the Wageningen campus. Four new arty illuminated displays will therefore give visitors a peek into the themes of Wageningen research.
Roelof Kleis

This ‘shop window’ in front of the Restaurant of the Future offers different perspectives on the theme of biodiversity. Photo: Guy Ackermans

These four ‘shop windows’ – some of which are still under construction – are to stand outside Orion, the Forum and the Restaurant of the Future. They have been designed by the Eindhoven-based Studio Maatwerk, which also designed the room dividers in The Spot and the fencing on the Orion terrace. After talking to staff and students, René Vullings and Philip Bogaerts of Maatwerk picked out four research themes; genetic manipulation, biodiversity, consumer behaviour and soil science. Standing at the Forum is a double helix (genetic modification), at the Restaurant of the Future, a wooden ‘letterbox’ (biodiversity), and to the west of Orion a stylized landscape (consumer behaviour). To the east of Orion, a concrete soil profile is provoking discussion, as Vullings realized after talking to students. ‘Everyone has their own take on particular issues. Take the application of genetic modification: there are very diverse opinions on that.’ This element of varying perspectives is explicitly reflected in the design of the display cases, which invite the viewer to look at topics through three different pairs of ‘spectacles’.

The displays consist of a blue metal object, an illuminated sign in which three posters are projected, superimposed on each other, and a blue metal frame with three viewers in red, green and blue respectively. A different image in the display becomes visible through each of the viewers. The ‘shop windows’ still have to be installed at some of the sites.

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