Orlando International Airport: Terminal C

For Orlando International Airport’s new Terminal C which opened in September 2022, our team created hours of interactive and immersive content for a series of permanent multimedia digital art installations.

“The Moment Vault” is an interactive installation designed as an organic circular structure immersing guests in a 360º immersive world. The content covers 2979 square feet LED panels on both sides of three curved walls. Up to 30 full body users’ movements are tracked in 3D in real-time and transformed into interactive silhouettes on screen to engage into a collaborative participative immersive experience featuring scenes from Mars, swims with manatees, fireflies, and fish. ”Windows on Orlando,” is a triptych of 32-foot-high screens spanning 114 feet that give the illusion of three windows opening up onto mesmerizing scenes celebrating Orlando. Coming in 2023 is “Portal,” a colossal aerial multimedia sculpture whose exterior and interior are covered with a multitude of screens that unfold 360 degrees across four floors in 32 high resolution.

The nature-based photorealistic content of each installation brings tranquility and peace to a typically stressful environment, transforming the airport into an oasis while seamlessly blending into the architecture itself. Under the mantra the knowns and the unknowns of Central Florida, the installations feature a multitude of original content spanning from underwater manatees swimming in the Crystal River to interactive martian worlds, while also exploring lesser-known beauty like the vast ranchlands south of Orlando–all of which travelers can experience in ways never known before.

The series of installations is the first of its kind in the aviation space, representing a creative effort to make public spaces more engaging, playful and collective. The installations are dedicated purely to art and local culture, completely free of advertisement or flight information. Gentilhomme’s work will impact an estimated 60 million annual travelers. By leveraging the magic of interactive technology, we’re providing a never-before-seen gateway into local culture and fostering unexpected connections among passersby, ultimately transforming the airport into a destination itself. 

At such a large scale, multimedia works of art transform the sites that surround them, providing opportunities to improve our relationships to everyday public spaces. Gentilhomme’s work for Terminal C celebrates this by offering unexpected moments of magic that bring travelers together through exciting and enchanting experiences. We aimed for a design that was not only original, but also true to the cultural context in which it exists in order to connect travelers of all demographics with the surrounding area in new and innovative ways.

Our team was awarded the mandate from the Greater Orlando Airport Authority to conceptualize, design and produce the content in 2020. For the past two years, our in-house team of dedicated designers, programmers, VFX artists, designers, cinematographers and creative directors have been collaborating to create unparalleled interactive experiences. To produce this body of work, which included over 70 unique video segments, we used advanced CGI techniques, machine learning, generative AI, immersive underwater filmmaking and 3D motion tracking technology that renders in real time on screen. To design the environments, Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, the most powerful real-time 3D creation tool, was used to create 360-degree hyper-realistic interactive scenes at high resolution. These installations act as sanctuaries throughout the new terminal, inviting passengers to escape the elements of stress that too often come with travel.  Furthermore, our team studied the passenger journey in order to design the best experience possible. The 70 video vignettes are curated and scheduled based on user experience, in consideration of traveler dwelling time, time of day and season.

To support the narrative of the knowns and unknowns–the throughline between video capsules–the content features widely celebrated symbols and landmarks belonging to Orlando, including manatees, Disney and SpaceX. Other capsules dive into the lesser recognizable elements, including the story of the Highwaymen, a group of African-American painters who never received the spotlight that they deserve. We are proud to feature and highlight artwork by Mary Ann Carroll, the only female belonging to the original Highwaymen group. 

From local residents to visitors, public art provides thought-provoking moments of magic that transform one’s relationship to the spaces that surround them, celebrating the inherent benefits of experiencing art in everyday life. Our intended impact is to combat the frustration and stress of air travel, boost mental health, and spark connection between fellow passengers. Our work acts as an intervention to entertain and comfort travellers of all ages, as well as a gateway into local culture.