Relax with “Virtual Reality light-refreshment”
Sitting back in a comfortable chair and relaxing with impressions of light and nature around you after a busy day at PLDC. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Actually, it is possible: with the “Virtual Reality (VR) light-refreshment”! The VR experience is based on the Japanese therapy of “shinrin-yoku”. Shinrin in Japanese means “forest,” and yoku means “bath.” So shinrin-yoku basically means immersing oneself in a forest atmosphere. The therapy uses the calming, refreshing effect of nature, guiding the viewer slowly through the forest or generating the impression of lying down in a hammock gazing up at a roof of leaves playing with the sunlight.
It is scientifically proven that light and nature have a positive impact on our health. Just by looking at trees and plants your brain adopts another mindset, giving you the chance to process experiences and focus on yourself. In fact, all these effects can be achieved just by looking at a vague black-and-white image of nature. Research even indicates that it is the pattern of fractal forms from nature that ensures that we achieve a feeling of relaxation. The patterns attract attention without the brain having to make an effort.
A good example of this are the shadows of trees on walls that mediate the feeling of nature. This shows the impact of light in combination with nature. In fact, light and nature are inextricably linked. The effect of scattered sunlight, filtered through the leaves, light that transforms the most uninspiring tree into something special, and the way light changes during the day in intensity and colour, renders the combination of light and nature an endless array of eye-catching experiences.
But not only the impressive images, also the invisible effects of daylight, sunrise and sunset make living in nature so precious for our health. The ultimate VR experience is a combination of light therapy and abstract visuals of nature. Embark on a digital journey of “shinrin-yoku” with the purpose of actively opening up your senses. It gives you the opportunity to benefit from the positive influences of light and nature even in an urban environment. In fact, from anywhere you like.
Via a VR headset the visitor will view beautiful, digital, abstract forms of nature and light introduced by a brief breathing meditation session through the headphones, which is also accompanied by calming music to realise a special 360-degree VR experience. The Experience Room itself has a relaxing atmosphere with an island in the middle of the room (a large, comfortable, rotatable chair with plants around it). The light is dimmed, inviting visitors to the space to embark on a VR journey. After five to ten minutes your mind will be refreshed and ready to take on new challenges.
Vera Wegener/NL, Atelier Wegener
My motto is: Atmosphere is no coincidence. You can make it – with light!
This goes much further than just creating a beautifully lit space, and underlines the incomprehensibly large impact light has on our perception and mood – from the way we perceive different materials through the reflection of light to demanding focused attention through the play of light and shadow.
After gaining my degree (cum laude) at the Willem de Kooning Academy of Art in Rotterdam in 2003 I worked for 15 years as an architectural lighting designer. In 2018, I realized that I wanted to use my knowledge of lighting in a different way. I developed the ambition to work in the field of VR/AR and combine my background as a lighting designer with my passion for 3D visualization and computer programming.
I love the immersive quality of virtual reality and the natural focus it incorporates. And even in the virtual world, atmosphere is no coincidence.
