The Natural History Museum is not just about prehistoric skeletons, rocks and stuffed animals. Some of the more contemporary exhibits are particularly relevant to my students subject area. Here we have an example of a simulated commercial space in Japan. Every few minutes, the floor begins to shake, the products rattle on the shelves and one is able to experience (at least to a point) what it may feel like to be within these spaces during an earth quake. It probably is a rather gentle experience in comparison to the reality, however, what these kinds of environments do is to promote thoughts and ideas about where were we can move next within Commercial Design. While of course this topic is perhaps a rather sensitive one considering the current situation in Haiti, we can perhaps use the concept of these kind of exhibits to enhance the thrill and experience of the shopper. It does of course need to be targeted carefully and these kind of experiences can become tiresome very quickly. However, the use of natural phenomena within a Commercial space? Who knows, lets see who does it first.
