Feeling the Energy: the charge of nature in all senses

We are capable of perceiving sensations through the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. They are part of the vital energy that allows us to interact with the world around us every day. The energy of the planet can also be perceived through the five senses. This is the concept of Plenitude's immersive art installation Feeling the Energy: it provides visitors with a multisensory experience, following a path on which energy can be perceived in different ways, through the five senses. The installation reinforces the importance of people working together: it is through the synergy between humans and nature that we see the production of vital energy that moves our planet every day.

The work is made of 500 meters of antibacterial copper that create a pathway along which visitors engage in game-based dynamics to experience different forms of sustainable energy production, such as solar, wind, evaporative cooling, and even sound energy. From the perspective of circularity, thanks precisely to the properties of copper, Feeling the Energy thus reflects Plenitude’s commitment to be an enabler of the energy transition.

All about Feeling the Energy

The artistic and immersive installation, designed by international design and innovation firm CRA - Carlo Ratti Associati with the collaboration of Italo Rota, is dedicated to the many forms of energy. Feeling the Energy can be perceived in different ways through the 5 senses, and along the installation pathway, energy is revealed in various forms: from sound to light to wind, everything produces energy that we benefit from in our lives every day.

Following this path, visitors interacting with the installation discover how a sound is created by blowing on the elements of the living orchestra or playing with a xylophone. In both cases, it is vibration that transmits the energy needed to produce what we hear. Wind-powered pinwheels move at different speeds, depending on the force applied; the same thing happens in wind-powered systems. Finally, photovoltaic panels transform the rays of sunlight into electricity, potentially powering many of the devices we use every day. For the more inquisitive, there is also the ‘auditory shortcut’ through which you can communicate in a kind of wireless telephone. The energy stored during the day, thanks in part to state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels, is used to light up the surroundings in the evening and to power water vaporizers that cool the air on hot days and nourish the surrounding greenery.

People first learned about Feeling The Energy at Design Week 2022 in Milan at the Brera Botanical Gardens. The Feeling the Energy installation traveled to Madrid, Spain, in the Real Jardín Botánico, to Sanremo, for the Italian Song Festival 2023, and then on to Bergamo, which together with Brescia is the Italian Capital of Culture 2023. The final destination of the installation will be the Dynamo Camp in Limestre in the province of Pistoia, in an green haven of more than 900 hectares, home to the facility that provides recreational therapy for children and young people with chronic illnesses.