Shaped by Water
An event designed in collaboration with industry designers. Made from the ground up: the main installation, storytelling, food, merchandise, and fashion, all centered around the ‘Shaped by Water’ theme, which evolved into a fictional story about the Great Salt Lake drying and refilling to the Lake Bonneville shoreline.
category
timeline
year
Group Project
13 weeks
2025
my role
Product team — Main Installation & Spatial Narrative Designer
Product team — Main Installation & Spatial Narrative Designer
After the lake has dried up and the toxic dust displaces part of the population of the valley, a mineral formed from mining runoff is found on the lakebed and proves to be tremendously economically valuable. In the rush to extract it, a chain of geological and hydrological events is kicked off which cause the lake to begin to refill. What initially appears to be a miraculous solution to our self-imposed environmental crisis turns to catastrophe as the water continues to rise, eventually restoring the ancient Lake Bonneville.
Narrative
Our narrative explores reciprocity between natural processes and human activity through the lens of the Great Salt Lake and its states through geologic time. We situate ourselves as both the agents and the subjects of change. As the lake level falls, the consequences of our exploitation of natural resources loom over us, utterly transforming our lives and landscapes.
Main Installation
The main installation was designed to represent the Great Salt Lake as it changes and evolves through different stages. The goal was to communicate multiple moments in the lake’s lifecycle all in one installation. I proposed suspending string from the existing ceiling beams, and working with Rory and other students, we developed a method to hang the string from ceiling to floor in a way that formed an hourglass-like shape to represent the passage of time. From the bottom up, the installation shows three stages of the Great Salt Lake: current water levels, a fully dried lake, and a re-filled lake extending to the historic Lake Bonneville shoreline.
The main installation was designed to represent the Great Salt Lake as it changes and evolves through different stages. The goal was to communicate multiple moments in the lake’s lifecycle all in one installation. I proposed suspending string from the existing ceiling beams, and working with Rory and other students, we developed a method to hang the string from ceiling to floor in a way that formed an hourglass-like shape to represent the passage of time. From the bottom up, the installation shows three stages of the Great Salt Lake: current water levels, a fully dried lake, and a re-filled lake extending to the historic Lake Bonneville shoreline.
Modeled by Rory Tarics
The Drought
With the main installation in place there was a huge gap from a visitor’s perspective,
the narrative shaping the form of the installation wouldn’t be clear, even though it was central to the concept. Because of this, I decided to separate from the group and create a space where the audience could engage with and understand the story.
The goal was creating a transition space that felt immersive. I used video, sound, and spatial elements to evoke the feeling of existing within the story we were telling in our main installation. I realized this concept in a hallway that separated the main space from the entrance and merchandise room.
The drought hallway was built out of craft paper, with spot lighting added to the bottom. There was a video of our story projected on the textured walls to create immersion and ambiance.
Other Projects
category
Group Project
timeline
13 weeks
year
2025
Product team — Main Installation & Spatial Narrative Designer
After the lake has dried up and the toxic dust displaces part of the population of the valley, a mineral formed from mining runoff is found on the lakebed and proves to be tremendously economically valuable. In the rush to extract it, a chain of geological and hydrological events is kicked off which cause the lake to begin to refill. What initially appears to be a miraculous solution to our self-imposed environmental crisis turns to catastrophe as the water continues to rise, eventually restoring the ancient Lake Bonneville.
Our narrative explores reciprocity between natural processes and human activity through the lens of the Great Salt Lake and its states through geologic time. We situate ourselves as both the agents and the subjects of change. As the lake level falls, the consequences of our exploitation of natural resources loom over us, utterly transforming our lives and landscapes.
With the main installation in place there was a huge gap from a visitor’s perspective,
the narrative shaping the form of the installation wouldn’t be clear, even though it was central to the concept. Because of this, I decided to separate from the group and create a space where the audience could engage with and understand the story.
The goal was creating a transition space that felt immersive. I used video, sound, and spatial elements to evoke the feeling of existing within the story we were telling in our main installation. I realized this concept in a hallway that separated the main space from the entrance and merchandise room.
Other Projects
The drought hallway was built out of craft paper, with spot lighting added to the bottom. There was a video of our story projected on the textured walls to create immersion and ambiance.
year
2025
Product team — Main Installation & Spatial Narrative Designer
my role
The main installation was designed to represent the Great Salt Lake as it changes and evolves through different stages. The goal was to communicate multiple moments in the lake’s lifecycle all in one installation. I proposed suspending string from the existing ceiling beams, and working with Rory and other students, we developed a method to hang the string from ceiling to floor in a way that formed an hourglass-like shape to represent the passage of time. From the bottom up, the installation shows three stages of the Great Salt Lake: current water levels, a fully dried lake, and a re-filled lake extending to the historic Lake Bonneville shoreline.
Modeled by Rory Tarics
With the main installation in place there was a huge gap from a visitor’s perspective,
the narrative shaping the form of the installation wouldn’t be clear, even though it was central to the concept. Because of this, I decided to separate from the group and create a space where the audience could engage with and understand the story.
The goal was creating a transition space that felt immersive. I used video, sound, and spatial elements to evoke the feeling of existing within the story we were telling in our main installation. I realized this concept in a hallway that separated the main space from the entrance and merchandise room.
The drought hallway was built out of craft paper, with spot lighting added to the bottom. There was a video of our story projected on the textured walls to create immersion and ambiance.