The Gazprom Experience.

The Gazprom Experience at the Europa leisure park in Rust, Germany is part entertainment venue and part corporate branding exercise. While visitors queue for the Blue Fire Megacoaster they are treated to an exhibition about gas courtesy of the world’s largest natural gas company. The subject matter might sound tedious but the effects and the technology employed are anything but.

The event and information hall, situated by the massive rollercoaster, opened at the end of March 2010. It incorporates three large rotundas, which serve as light-proof spaces for 360° projections and subdivide the queuing area. The open hall can also be used to house events. The whole concept and design, including media and graphic design, was created by Triad Berlin Projektgesellschaft. Triad, led by technical manager, Henning Foest was also responsible for project and technical management.

A graphic ribbon runs across the hall, linking the rotundas. The massive graphics dominate the space while the units also screen the hospitality area from the rollercoaster launch pad and the queuing area. In each dome six Panasonic projectors, mounted on a special floor-standing steel construction, provide the panoramic films while Kling & Freitag speakers generate a surround sound experience.

Videos within the domes depict to visitors how gas is produced. The projections tell stories of finding, producing, transporting and using fossil natural gas. In the first dome, the experience becomes multi-sensory as a bass shaker is used to shake the visitors’ gangway during parts of the video that depict drilling for natural gas. The structure-borne sound converter is often used in 4D cinema installations and makes the sound tactile.

The 360° films are projected onto 2.5m high screens. Each screen is 18m in length and images are entirely created with Computer Generated Images (CGI). The dynamic surround sound and special effects like wind and spray are designed to immerse visitors in the experience.
Finally, the ‘Gazprom Game’ allows visitors to build a pipeline from Russia to Germany. In order to do this they have to answer numerous questions about natural gas as quickly as possible. There’s also a trip to Russia up for grabs for the triumphant game player. Lesser points do warrant prizes of lesser stature. Visitors can play the game by uploading it to their mobile phone via Bluetooth or SMS. Alternatively they can use the ELO 1739L touchscreen on site.