Practically nowhere in the Netherlands does the climate challenge come together as concentrated as it does in Groningen, which makes it an ideal testing ground for climate adaptation and system change. In Sponsland – part of the Act & Adapt Design Manifestation Climate Adaptation Groningen – four Dutch and four international design agencies sketch a picture of Groningen in 2120. These agencies have provided their plans with concrete steps, the first of which can already be taken tomorrow. Our assignment: translate their plans into a ‘traveling exhibition’ that can pop-up at different places, with a manifest, a book and a website that appeal to a wide audience (politicians, policy makers, civil servants, specialists, designers, and citizens).

The physical exhibition was postponed to September 2021, so we decided to develop a virtual, interactive journey on the informational website of Sponsland.nl. For the virtual exhibition, we ‘hacked’ Google Street View to integrate playful 3D elements on the exact places the eight studios researched and sketched their future picture of Groningen. People could ‘travel’ in Sponsland, see the different possibilities, watch videos, and read more about each project.

For the physical exhibition we developed parts that could travel easily, made of light and durable modular boxes that were used to transport the projects and models to several locations, as well as for the set-up of the exhibitions. To make an impact, we captured the 10 design principles for climate-adaptive design in a 13-meter-long leporello and a 188-pages exhibition catalogue.