theming for te puia visitors centre

'using props to tell your story'

Izzat Design constructed and installed many of the theming elements within the Te Puia visitors centre in Rotorua new Zealand, including the physical aspects of the Ruamoko interactive, which is a volcanic crater harboring a digital representation of ‘Ruamoko’ the guardian of volcanoes and earthquakes within Maori mythology.

We initially sculpted the Ruamoko volcanic crater in expanded styrene foam. The sculpted form we then hard coated with a compound of resin and authentic volcanic aggregates. The surface was finished in this way to provide realistic textures and colours to aid in the immersive experience.

The crew at Izzat Design used a similar approach to construct a product display stand in the retail area of the Te Puia visitors centre. The stand is a replica of a large rock, with integrated flat areas used for the display of thermal mud skincare cosmetics from the surrounding Rotorua region. The only difference being in this case after sculpting the basic form of the rock from polystyrene we then clad the shelf with pre cast rock elements taken from silicon impression moulds of real rock.