Boston/San Diego-based experiential design firm SOSO revealed its latest interactive digital artwork, the COCA Interactive Community Wall, which transforms the new public Centene Commons into a performative environment. The Wall features a 20-ft long screen-based motion-tracking system that encourages visitors to explore and create art with their bodies.

© Ty Cole 

The Interactive Community Wall occupies a key location with two-fold importance. Experientially, it is the heart of the new campus where the community and visitors converge, and architecturally, it nestles and negotiates between Erich Mendelsohn’s original mid-century building and the new wing.

The expansion and renovation, designed by Christner Architects and Axi:Ome, enable COCA’s facilities to better meet the needs of the community, and SOSO’s Interactive Community Wall seamlessly integrates technology and media with the stylish new campus, creating an interactive and immersive space that reflects the dynamism of the community.

Charged with activating such a crucial public space, SOSO designed the artwork in collaboration with community members, board members, and staff. The result is a piece that reflects and brings to life the organization’s mission of enriching lives and building community through the arts. 

“From start to finish, the artwork was inspired by the movements of the COCA community. It was a thrill to come to St. Louis to digitally capture and integrate the movements of COCA dancers into the artwork,” said Eric Gunther, Creative Director at SOSO, “They each left their personal imprint for future visitors.”

© Ty Cole 

SOSO designers and collaborators synthesized a design solution that channels the energy of the COCA community’s performers and dancers. The Interactive Community Wall also serves as a venue to recognize contributors to the COCA’s Create Our Future campaign.

“We sought SOSO’s help looking for an innovative, surprising new way to thank our community contributors,” explained Kent Turner, COCA Board of Directors.   “The Interactive Community Wall supports our mission by both reflecting and inspiring the individual creativity that drives COCA.” 

When visitors step up to interact with the screens, the physical movements transform into fluid waves of color made up of nearly a million particles. These particles represent the COCA community and come together to spell out donor names and important community messages. 

When no one is interacting with the installation, the pre-recorded movements of musicians, dancers, and performers from the COCA community bring the screens to life.

© Ty Cole 

Highlights of the design include:

• The displays are activated by visitors’ movements in front of the installation via an infrared scanner, creating colorful aqueous animation that reflects the motion.

• Every graphic element on screen is composed entirely of individual particles. 

• The system moves around 750,000 particles at a high frame rate in real time. They come together to form the donor text, while also fluidly reacting to motion input.

• At any moment, visitors can step up and interact with the scenes through their own motion, affecting the particles and colors. 

• Performances by 12 COCA community members were captured for the wall during the design phase and play out over the day when visitors aren’t interacting with it.

COCA is the fourth largest multidisciplinary community arts center in the country and annually serves more than 50,000 people of all ages, backgrounds, and ability levels—from enthusiastic amateurs to emerging professionals—all taught by a faculty of more than 250 distinguished teaching artists.

Project Team

Eric Gunther

John Rothenberg

Todd Vanderlin

Wes Thomas

Deborah Levison

Henrique Penteado Kujawski Périgo

About SOSO

SOSO is an experiential design firm that imagines and builds a better future through design and technology. Located in Boston and San Diego, the studio was founded by three MIT grads who blend their backgrounds in architecture, computer science, and media arts. From strategy to design and installation, their multidisciplinary team of designers, architects and software developers delivers inspiring solutions that exceed their purpose and embrace the future. 

Their holistic approach to working across digital and physical space spans form and boundaries—from interactive installations to digital apps to multisensory experiences—to deliver lasting human impact through wonder, discovery, and emotional connection.

SOSO’s work transforms spaces, tells powerful stories, and meaningfully engages audiences through information and wonder. They have created unique experiences for clients including the Empire State Building, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Nobel Peace Center, Atlantic Magazine, Google, IBM, Intel, Porsche, and Vice. Their work has been recognized with awards from The Art Directors Club and Cannes Lions and exhibited internationally at the Walker Art Center, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and the Shanghai Biennial.

About COCA

A national leader in innovative arts education, COCA provides meaningful arts experiences in its studios, gallery and theaters, as well as in schools, community centers and corporate settings around St. Louis.

The fourth largest multidisciplinary community arts center in the country, COCA annually serves more than 50,000 people of all ages, backgrounds, and ability levels—from enthusiastic amateurs to emerging professionals—all taught by a faculty of more than 250 distinguished teaching artists.

COCA is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Precollegiate Arts Schools (ACCPAS). For more information, visit https://www.cocastl.org/