"The Unfrozen Toy Box: A Massive Real-Time Interactive Playground"

For this 16th edition of LUMINO, we designed a portal to childhood where the ice is no longer just a surface, but the engine of a visual and sonic narrative generated in real-time by the public.
How to reinvent outdoor skating?
By tapping into our collective memories.

The concept was to spill the contents of an imaginary toy box across 1,500 square meters of ice.
The Concept: Three worlds, three dynamics

Zero-Gravity Highway: A high-speed race through a floating universe with a retro-gaming aesthetic. Skaters are transformed into true pilots.

The Neon World: A tribute to pinball machines. Neon balls and colors burst upon contact with the skaters, creating an electric and unpredictable choreography.

The floor is lava!: The ultimate childhood challenge brought to an urban scale. A world where the ice seems to turn into magma under the pressure of the skates. (watch out for the blasters!)
Innovation: A never-ending, evolving experience

The heart of the project lies in a sophisticated interactive video projection system. Unlike a traditional video loop, the artwork is in constant evolution

- Real-time reactivity: Every movement triggers specific visual reactions.

- Surprise outcomes: Depending on the intensity and coordination of the skaters, special events and secret finales can be activated, making each 30-minute session completely unique.
Over 150 assets where created in c4d and After Effects to be processed in
Touch Designer to build 3 unique interactive scenes.
Impact: Breaking through the winter chill through play

By occupying the city center's largest outdoor skating rink, the project proves that technology can humanize urban spaces in the heart of winter. "The Unfrozen Toy Box" became a gathering place where the cold is forgotten, allowing everyone to become an active participant in their own imagination. It is a celebration of Montreal's creativity—free, universal, and deeply unifying.
CREDITS :

Concept & Creation: OTTOMATA & DOKI
Motion Design & Art Direction: DOKI; Stefano Gemmellaro, Josselin Bey, Jean-Christophe Henry
Creative Programming: Charles-Éric Gandubert, Sophie Schulz, Hugo Laliberté
Technical Direction: Jonathan Jeanson
Sound Design: Hugo Laliberté
This video projection is produced by the PARTENARIAT DU QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES and made possible with the financial support of TOURISME MONTRÉAL and the MINISTÈRE DU TOURISME as part of the EPRTNT for the Montreal tourism region.