Jora Vision, a leading design and production company, has completed work on a major Portuguese museum experience, Quake Lisbon Earthquake Center, which officially opened to visitors in April 2022 following Jora Vision’s creative involvement spanning three years.
Inspired by the famous earthquake of 1 November 1755, the brand-new experience investigates the story that dramatically reshaped the city’s landscape and streets, resulting in a tsunami and devastating fires. The natural phenomenon is considered one of the most intense earthquakes in recent centuries, making a global impact and having significance today.
Housed in a new building, in the Belém area, Quake is close to other major Lisbon museums including Museu dos Coches, MAAT and Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. Jora Vision has been responsible for the full design development and turn-key production realisation of the Quake project.
The story-driven experience
Robin van der Want, project development director for Jora Vision, says: “The 1,800 square metre experience features a ninety-minute immersive walkthrough. Divided into nine timed and show-controlled scenes, visitors will be immersed in an educational, but most of all, story-driven spectacle.
“The whole journey will be brought to life using projection mapping, integrated media screens, interactive exhibits, special effects, immersive show lighting, highly themed environments and simulator effects, all wrapped up in a beautiful custom-composed soundtrack.”
Unlocking knowledge of the historical event, visitors will be transported back in time to re-live the earthquake. Guided in groups through different scenes, the experience begins with an abandoned laboratory, where a professor invites guests to travel back two centuries and bring back important missing documents. On their adventure, guests walk through the streets of the lost city, watching the drama unfold around them and discovering the political, scientific and historical effects of the earthquake.
An adventure with accuracy
Quake is a unique tourist experience, deviating from facts and figures found in more traditional formats and opting for a custom-designed storyline that combines and connects historical, scientific and cultural aspects together.
By blending modern show techniques and a detailed physical environment with a custom soundtrack and media, guests can interact and participate in a one-of-a-kind adventure.
Accuracy was an important aspect of the design and build, with the environment being highly themed with historical and scientific correctness in mind, covering many aspects such as the custom-designed simulator church benches.
Jora Vision creative director Marco Ruzza says that designing Quake was an interesting creative challenge:
“On one hand the project needed to be educationally relevant, to justify and enhance the quality of the experience – therefore the Quake guidelines needed to be historically and scientifically accurate, as well respectful.
“On the other hand, we wanted to deviate from a ‘traditional’ museum execution, so creating a true story-driven journey around the actual events was crucial for us, the difference being that the experience needed to bring visitors along for a plot – a beginning, middle, and end.
“Through these experiences, visitors needed to leave the experience having played a role on an emotional level. This whole process has been an elaborate undertaking consulting with many scientific and historical local academic experts, part of the client team.
“But in the end, we found the sweet spot between the seriousness of the topic with the entertainment and fun factor. We now love to see visitors being absorbed in this extraordinary event, having fun but also learn to understand how Lisbon was so affected in 1755”.
Jora Vision has more than three decades of experience in the design, development and delivery of immersive experiences and attractions. The firm worked with teams from InFact Global, Kraftwerk Living Technologies, Mr.Beam Studio and Painting with Light on the Quake project.
Jan Maarten de Raad, Jora Vision CEO concludes: “We love unique and meaningful [cultural] stories, and are excited to harness our design and production skills to bring these stories to life in ways that break the traditional barrier. We are confident Quake is a spectacular example of this!”
Jora Vision will be exhibiting next month at IAAPA Expo Europe. The firm will be at booth #3021 at ExCeL London from 13 – 15 September 2022.
