Matthew Mayes FRSA

SAP is the principal sponsor of the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg’s spectacular new concert venue located in the heart of the city. The Elbphilharmonie has challenged conventional thinking around the concert hall experience and has been described as Germany’s most important cultural project – a bow to music itself!

 

The architecture and phenomenal panorama are stunning and is accessed by an escalator ride of over 1 and half minutes which to take you up to the viewing plaza which welcomes 15,000 visitors per day. This was where SAP had an opportunity to tell the story of the Elbphilharmonie in the heart of an iconic cultural space. It had to be relevant to SAP as well as the Elbphilharmonie and work for all different types of visitors.

 

We ruled out conventional touch screens and had a vision for a completely new type of touch table experience that could be used by multiple users. To develop a content and visitor experience strategy to support the Elbphilharmonie Touch Table, we used the concept of ’transformation’ as our filter and conceptual starting point.

 

We needed to develop a completely new interface and table ‘OS’ to guide users through the multi-media experience. Our design concept was ‘Making Waves’ as since its conception, the Elbphilharmonie has made waves around the world. It has pushed boundaries and challenged the norm, transforming the way people think of architecture, hear music, and view Hamburg. Waves are integral to the building too - from the shape of the roof and the curving Tube to the sound waves resonating in the Halls.

 

The development of the software and interface design had to happen in conjunction with the build of the table and was delivered in just 6 weeks using an AGILE project management process (for the first time at Momentum UK). The touch table will be live in 2018.

 

Role and responsibilities: Digital Strategy, Concept  and AGILE Project Development

Momentum Worldwide 2017