FLORENCE, ITALY – The I-Dome immersive experience cupola is the winner of the 2015 SMAU Firenze Smart Communities Award. This morning, at the event spotlighting innovation (Fortezza da Basso, Florence), Tuscany’s Commissioner for Economic Activity Stefano Ciuoffo presented the award to Mario Curia, Managing Director of PromoFirenze, the Florence Chamber of Commerce’s specialised company leading the territorial projects sponsored by Expo 2015.
«We are convinced that the I_Dome can be an innovative world showcase for our products, And we are pleased that SMAU has understood its relevance as an engine for development of the territory and its companies,’ commented Mario Curia during the award ceremony. ‘In fact, we will be using the I_Dome to promote Florence in an ongoing territorial marketing project scheduled to continue until the next World Exposition.»
The I_Dome, designed by architect Alessandro Moradei with Elena Mari, is 8.5 meters in height by 6 meters in diameter. It will be open to visitors, free of charge, until 31 October in the courtyard of the City Records Office in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. Its architectural form and proportions recall Brunelleschi’s cathedral dome. The exterior is built of contemporary materials, by today’s techniques; inside, an immersive video to watch looking upwards surprises visitors with 360° images of the territory’s productive excellences. Four touch screens allow visitors to take a closer look at the activities which make Florence famous in so many fields, from the arts to food and wine, from artistic crafts to fashion.
The cupola was built by the Florentine company Machina and video-mapping of the interior was carried out by TT Tecnosistemi, headquartered in Prato. During the workshop conducted as part of SMAU 2015, representatives of these two companies illustrated how it was possible to create the structure using sustainable yet resistant materials (such as polycarbonate and polyurethane resins) and to equip it with projectors capable of transforming an equirectangular video filmed with six cameras working simultaneously into an unprecedented immersive experience.
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