Throo : A Public Installation Encouraging Physical Movement
As the lead on concept development, I focused on shaping an experience that would seamlessly integrate movement and play into the daily lives of NYC pedestrians. This interactive installation encourages people to step outside their routines and engage with their surroundings in a more physical, dynamic way.
Team
Jingyi Zhu
Tao Tao Holmes
How might we encourage NYC pedestrians to engage in physical movement and social interaction?
Throo addresses the epidemic of prolonged sitting—especially among students, who, according to the CDC, spend an average of 8 to 10 hours a day seated. By designing an installation that playfully nudges pedestrians into motion, we sought to disrupt this sedentary cycle and spark moments of social interaction.
(This was an 7 week rapid-prototyping project)
Why this form?
We explored over 15 different concepts around the verbs (Stretch & Move) before refining Throo as our final direction.
What made it stand out was its low barrier to entry and the variability in engagement—it allowed pedestrians to interact on their own terms, whether by simply passing through or stopping to experiment with different poses.
IDEATION
Prototyping (Phase 1)
In addition to overseeing design operations, I led the concept development and experience strategy, ensuring that Throo was extended beyond it functionality.
My focus was on crafting an experience that was intuitive, inviting, and scalable—something that could live comfortably in different public spaces while maintaining a strong, recognizable identity.
The inspiration was the Japanese show "hole in the wall"
CONSIDERDATIONS
Should we have space pre-warm up stretches?
A space for people to hang their bags and jackets?
Crowdsourced ideas on the panel shapes?
Prototyping (Phase 2)
Soon realising that designing for public spaces comes with its own challenges, adding instructions and directions may not work in the idea's favour. We had to create something that was self explanatory for people to make it its own
We got into building full scale prototypes
CONSIDERATIONS
The shapes needed to be mimic human movements
Avoiding symmetry
Maintaining variation in height
_gif.gif)
Production and Testing
After conducted two rounds of scale prototyping, using both paper and balsa wood, followed by user testing to refine the interaction model, we knew it was time to make it REAL!
Our initial testing confirmed our proof of concept: pedestrians responded with curiosity, engaging in the type of movement we had envisioned—similar to an adult jungle gym.
Takeaways
Designing for public spaces is both exciting and unpredictable. When we piloted an early version of the panels, we observed users interacting with them in ways we hadn’t anticipated.
This reinforced the importance of designing for flexibility—allowing space for unexpected yet meaningful interactions. Most importantly, Throo achieved its goal of sparking movement and play in an urban setting.
Throo was selected to be displayed at SVA's Chelsea Gallery this year (Feb 2025)
This wouldn't have been possible without the awesome mentors Sigi Moeslinger and Masamichi Udagawa from Antenna design
