Botanical gardens

In Padua, Italy, dotdotdot has designed three interactive installations as part of an extensive renewal program of the oldest academic botanical gardens in the world.

dotdotdot, Orto botanico Padova
The historical academic Botanical Gardens in Padua are a world heritage site protected by UNESCO. They are embracing new instruments of research and discovery, with a contemporary twist in the languages, the contents and how they are used.
dotdotdot, installazione interattiva, Orto botanico di Padova
dotdotdot, interactive installation, Padua Botanical garden. Photo Laura Fantacuzzi, Maxime Galati Fourcade
As part of this vast project, dotdotdot has created three interactive installations for educational activities and research into subjects related to botany, cultivations and biodiversity, with color-coded and highly intuitive interfaces that are easy and enjoyable to explore.
dotdotdot, installazione interattiva, Orto botanico di Padova
dotdotdot, interactive installation, Padua Botanical garden. Photo Laura Fantacuzzi, Maxime Galati Fourcade

I lunghi viaggi delle piante (The long journey of plants) is an invitation to interact with a scenographic and dynamic system to learn more about plant species used in food production. The contents – geographical origins, history, culture, nutritional value – are visually transmitted through a recipe that describes the different characteristics. A large infographic panel depicts a planisphere that provides immediate information on the bond between plant species, gastronomy and the land.

Superimposing the panel, on a system of Cartesian axes, a small display shines like a mechanical cursor; it takes a more detailed look into the graphic images they encounter along the way. On the side of the map, a touch screen is transformed into a console that activates the system and visualizes the contents. In standby mode, when no-one is interacting with the installation, the system is activated in a random manner.

dotdotdot, installazione interattiva, Orto botanico di Padova
dotdotdot, interactive installation, Padua Botanical garden. Photo Laura Fantacuzzi, Maxime Galati Fourcade
An oniric landscape of trees and shrubs unfolds in Le piante intorno a noi (The plants around us). dotdotdot has created an intuitive and absorbing installation to allow visitors to learn more about thirty different plant species. Visitors select a plant species from the selection presented on a console; the outline of the plant is presented on the screen front panels. This is joined by the plant’s characteristics and features, the traditions and how they are used by man, in architecture, in medicine, in cooking etc.
dotdotdot, installazione interattiva, Orto botanico di Padova
dotdotdot, interactive installation, Padua Botanical garden. Photo Laura Fantacuzzi, Maxime Galati Fourcade
Costruisci il tuo orto planetario (Build your own planetary garden): the technological layout is the same as the one used in the first installation, however the information provided and the interactive dynamics of the interface are different. The visitors are then given the opportunity to create their own personal garden. The installation combines the various parameters selected by the public – climate, grain crops and vegetable plants – and finalizes the journey based on interaction and discover. When on standby, the system is activated in a random manner, and presents the multiple combinations on the screen.
dotdotdot, installazione interattiva, Orto botanico di Padova
dotdotdot, interactive installation, Padua Botanical garden. Photo Laura Fantacuzzi, Maxime Galati Fourcade

The Botanical Gardens were founded in Padua, Northeast Italy in 1545 and are the oldest academic Botanical Gardens in the world. Down through the centuries, the Gardens have remained in the same location and have preserved its main scientific and architectonic principles.

During 2014, the Botanical Gardens have been extended and given an almost total makeover, in full respect of the history of the location. The project by studio VS Associati aims to restore the age-old equilibrium between the architecture and landscapes and harmonize the existing structures with the new additions: it is a major challenge in building construction and, more importantly, in cultural terms.

The central feature of the new gardens are five futuristic hothouses, inserted in a steel and glass arcade; these reproduce five ecosystems found on Earth; this construction also contains the new visitor centers, designed to form a bridge to connect the city with nature; there are also structures to house a bookshop, a coffee bar, a conference hall, workshops and facilities for temporary exhibitions.

dotdotdot, installazione interattiva, Orto botanico di Padova
dotdotdot, interactive installation, Padua Botanical garden. Photo Laura Fantacuzzi, Maxime Galati Fourcade

Interactive installation
Designer: dotdotdot
Via Orto Botanico, 15 Padua, Italy

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