ZERO ONE TECHNOLOGY
FESTIVAL 2018
Client / Zero One
Sector / Technology
Service / Placemaking, Branding
We conceptualised, designed and curated a technology festival inside an old glass factory in Shenzhen, transforming it into a celebration of the creative spirit of evolutionary science and technology enterprises, built from the ground up. The team created an immersive future business space integrating multiple fields under the theme of “second nature”.
The Zero One Tech Festival saw more than 100,000 visitors, 120 tech companies and exhibitors, and over 1,000 members of the media attend.
Background
With more than 300 tech events being held annually in China, and with 180 in Shenzhen alone, how could we get people to attend our tech festival, located in an old glass factory on the outskirts of Shenzen? When we were given the challenge from our client to organise the tech festival, we knew we had to take a different approach. In addition to targeting tech afficionados, the event also managed to attract families and people of all ages.
Design Approach
The Zero One Tech Festival had to be more than just a place for vendors to introduce the latest technology, thus we brought in media and art installations to immerse festival goers. It made them realise how beautifully and intricately technology has been integrated into our lives, without us even realising it, where it becomes second nature to us. Thus what made this technology festival special was that it made people fall in love with technology and enabled them to understand how technology makes our lives better beyond what they can see.
The main stage had screens on the ceiling and sides showing live posting on social media, and also offered translations during panel discussions.
Placemaking to rejuvenate dead spaces
We designed and curated events, programmes, facilities and spaces around these themes. Typical technology events like CES are held in a big expo space with no obstacles, but the main hall, which was the old machine hall, had many pillars with tops of a different size right in the middle. This posed a huge physical challenge for us, but we turned it into one of the features of the expo and even pulled human traffic through the centre by designing and building an LED pathway.
We chose a site that would usually be overlooked but has a deep cultural significance in the community. Tech is a big part of our lives and will be even more so in the future, thus it shows how old sites can be given new life and still be relevant to our future.
Innovative interactivity between exhibitor and visitor
The exhibitors selected for the festival were the stars of the show. We designed a booth for Hachi, a tech affiliate of Seedland. Regular smart home showcases were very product driven, with mock up house settings and dense product displays. The Hachi booth allowed visitors to feel like they were being taken on a journey by an experienced guide, and they could build a relationship with the brand, instead of just being shown a product.
Another booth design concept we came up with was for the home security and technology brand Puppy. They’d be launching for the first time in China at the Zero One Festival. We designed their logo to look like a puppy guarding a home (like a guard dog). We also designed the booth for IoT furniture company 37°. Instead of building a regular showroom setup which is made to look like a home, we featured each piece of furniture in a clean space, like a piece of art, to be celebrated.
Happy endings
From project kick-off to event opening, we took six months to revive a repurposed glass factory and attracted visitors from all across China. The event proved to be a great success in showcasing China's most cutting-edge Black Technology. The event say more than 100,000 visitors, 120 tech companies and visitors in 30,000 sqm of event space.
A grand first impression - We worked together with Formwerkz Architects to build a massive 140m tall totem that would greet visitors at the entrance of the space. In the day time, the shadow of the totem would travel in a circle on the ground like a sundial, symbolising how the advance of technology through time is second nature. As it lights up at night, it signifies the festival's vision of a bright future driven by technology.
For further questions regarding this project, please feel free to reach out to hello@theafternaut.com for more information.
Comma "Manless" Convenience Store China
The Afternaut Group Pte Ltd. 2024
