Flemish Parliament

Background

Nestled in the heart of Brussels, the newly opened Flemish Parliament Visitor Centre has already become a mustsee destination for tourists, students, business guests and associations. Its interactive set-up has attracted over 25,000 visitors in just one year – where guests have come to appreciate a perfect fusion of future-driven technology and rare pieces of modern Flemish art. The visitor experience is built around six themes: the voting process of citizens; the composition and tasks of the Flemish Parliament; the relationship between civil society and parliament; democracy and the rule of law; the emergence of the Flemish nation; and the origins of the Flemish state.

Challenge

A complex political system is just the start when it comes to Belgium. Here, politician and policy changeovers are both frequent and sporadic. The Flemish Parliament Visitor Centre needed a solution that was able to cater for fast change and complex political structures. Furthermore, each exhibition had to be as engaging as possible to maintain audience attention through its dense political topics. The centre itself is a brand new fitout in an established building. Going for a minimal design, almost no objects, printed text, pictures or any other traditional material were to be used. Instead, the Flemish Parliament Visitor Centre wanted to pave the way with futuristic thinking that inspires all to follow.

Solution

To turn this vision into a reality, PPDS teamed up with the mixologists of engaging interactive experiences, Ocular. Together, five large-scale interactive videowalls were installed throughout the centre. Multiple touchscreen and custom-made applications were also developed to ensure that every detail in the Flemish Parliament Visitor Centre is told through a digital lens. The team at Ocular created a fully interactive experience that inspires guests to engage with the technology around them, as well as with each other. Throughout the centre, video screens, touch-screens, audio guides and multi-player games all work in perfect harmony to tell an important story through technology – which is exactly what Ocular does best. At the heart of the exhibit is the biggest Touchwall display in Belgium, with a 4 x 3 49” set-up that has been designed to give guests an incredible interactive memory to last a lifetime.

Benefits

High impact videowalls: The story of the Flemish Parliament is told through interactive videowalls. These videowalls provide visitors with a high-impact digital experiences that are both engaging and memorable.

Central control: The Philips Professional Display set up is easily updateable by the staff of the Flemish Parliament Visitor Centre to add new content and information for each of the exhibits. Updates are made possible through Ocular’s custom CMS system and can be pushed to a single screen or to multiple screens for infinite versatility.

Interactive content: Using Ocular’s custom set-up, visitors can interact with each of the screens in the language of their choice using a handheld audio-guide. All they need to do is ‘point-andclick’ to engage with the content in their preferred language.

Seamless connectivity: Engagement is boosted throughout the visitor centre with Ocular’s perfectly designed set-up that takes guests on a unique, interactive journey. The stories of each exhibit are connected to each other for an in-depth learning experience like no other.