Immersive experiences can transport and entertain us,
but could they also help us heal? Innovation consultancy
White Mirror thinks so, with its focus on the idea of
experience as medicine, as Julie Cramer discovers
White Mirror helped create virtual forest bathing experience Lupuna / Photo: Thermengruppe Josef Wund
'One of our guiding principles is founded on the concept of ‘experience as medicine’. How can we create immersive environments that also become therapeutic environments?” says Ramy Elnagar, co-founder of wellness innovation consultancy White Mirror.
The company, which has a creative studio in London and a neuroscience lab in Lisbon, has been involved in many next-level projects focused on technology-driven art, science and music since its formation four years ago.
Last issue in Attractions Management, we reported on the increasing crossover between the attractions and wellness industries, with a growing number of immersive projects focusing on wellbeing. We’ve reported on several water-based immersive experiences that straddle wellness and attractions – a recent White Mirror project brings multisensory levels of technology into the spa environment in a different way, with a virtual forest bathing experience.
A journey through the Amazon rainforest Commissioned by Thermengruppe Josef Wund, with art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) and experience designers TheLoveTriangle and White Mirror, Forest Bathing: Lupuna is an immersive virtual forest bathing experience for Therme Euskirchen near the city of Bonn.
Elnagar says: “Thermengruppe Josef Wund is passionate about bringing science and nature together and studying the effects of the biophilic environment on human wellbeing.
“They also understand the need to embrace technology to meet the expectations of an evolving audience.”
Forest Bathing: Lupuna, named after the South American tree, takes visitors through 24 hours of the Amazon rainforest in 24 minutes. Elnagar explains: “You step into a waterfall that opens up as you approach, leading to a room filled with rain. The space features 360 degree sound with recordings from the Amazon. Using spatial sound design, you hear everything from the buzz of a mosquito passing close by to raindrops falling.
“Next, you lay down on custom-designed lily pads. Overhead projectors display images ranging from wide-angle shots of towering trees to close-ups of the Queen of the Night, a flower that blooms just before dawn once a year. The space is carefully designed to engage and instil calm without overwhelming the senses.”
A meeting of minds The team behind these concepts by White Mirror includes co-founder Tom Middleton, a wellness music pioneer and sleep science coach who’s performed on global stages with stars such as Lady Gaga and Mark Ronson. Elnagar is a hybrid business strategist with a background in virtual and augmented reality and AI.
Research director Francisco Teixeira is a neurotech consultant who oversees the company’s Portugal-based research lab, where clients can validate their products and services before taking them to market. Meanwhile, artistic director Arianne Amores focuses on creating stunning visual concepts for brands.
Elnagar had his own tech company before meeting Middleton at a sleep conference. Soon after, the idea for White Mirror was born. He says: “Tom was performing music but wanted to focus on creating ‘music for purpose’. He’s a very kind soul who’s all about helping people. I was having my own purpose crisis and grappling with how we could create ‘tech for good’. We knew we had to work together.”
Research methods Behind the creation of such multi-layered immersive environments is research that monitors effects like reduced stress, greater relaxation, deeper sleep and enhanced sense of wellbeing.
Elnagar says: “Our lab examines psycho-physiological effects, such as heart rate, breathing patterns, brain activity, emotional arousal and galvanic skin response while the experience is happening. We also monitor how people feel before and after, using biometrics as well as pre- and post-questionnaires.”
White Mirror also recently facilitated a relationship between Thermengruppe Josef Wund and the International Arts and Minds Lab (IAMLAB) neuroaesthetics team at Johns Hopkins University in the US. This has resulted in ongoing research looking at what it is about light, sound and vibrations that make us feel good. The findings are due to be published by the end of this year, explains Elnagar.
“From this, we hope to develop a sensory playbook to share across industries,” he adds, “to help us all deliver more intentional wellness-orientated spaces.”
Awe-inducing experiences One thing that both the attractions and wellness communities have seen since the isolation of lockdown is people’s increased desire for more meaningful social engagements, which is something that White Mirror’s work seeks to address.
Elnagar says: “We look at how we can use art, science and music to open people up so that they can feel more and become healthier as a result.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2024 issue 4
People: Jess French
The children’s author sees her fantastical creations brought to life at Chester Zoo
Interview: Peter Slavenburg
As Drents Museum in the Netherlands launches a radically new collection presentation, we speak to the designer about doing things differently
Talking point: A helping hand
Attractions industry workers need support more than ever, but is enough being done? We speak to some experts putting wellness and mental health first
Planetarium: Looking up
Bringing people together under the dark skies of Arizona, Lowell Observatory’s new Astronomy Discovery Center is truly unique
Waterpark: Desert Oasis: Qiddiya Aquarabia
The largest waterpark in the Middle East is set to open in Saudi Arabia in 2026, and it’s going to be huge. We speak to the team behind this epic development
Museums: Nintendo Museum: Play on
Giant controllers, consoles operated by visitors’ shadows and a game based on Japanese poems... The Nintendo Museum opens in Kyoto
Technology: Kyle Morrand: The power of play
The CEO of 302 Interactive is using AR, VR and other technologies to solve real world problems, and transform the attractions industry. He shares his game plan
Interview: Dominic Jones
From a game-changing partnership to getting creative with budget technologies, the CEO of the Mary Rose Trust is bringing his commercial nous to the museum world
Research: In the heart of it
City centre attractions are transforming to meet the needs of experience-hungry visitors, but where are they headed next?
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opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
Immersive experiences can transport and entertain us,
but could they also help us heal? Innovation consultancy
White Mirror thinks so, with its focus on the idea of
experience as medicine, as Julie Cramer discovers
White Mirror helped create virtual forest bathing experience Lupuna / Photo: Thermengruppe Josef Wund
'One of our guiding principles is founded on the concept of ‘experience as medicine’. How can we create immersive environments that also become therapeutic environments?” says Ramy Elnagar, co-founder of wellness innovation consultancy White Mirror.
The company, which has a creative studio in London and a neuroscience lab in Lisbon, has been involved in many next-level projects focused on technology-driven art, science and music since its formation four years ago.
Last issue in Attractions Management, we reported on the increasing crossover between the attractions and wellness industries, with a growing number of immersive projects focusing on wellbeing. We’ve reported on several water-based immersive experiences that straddle wellness and attractions – a recent White Mirror project brings multisensory levels of technology into the spa environment in a different way, with a virtual forest bathing experience.
A journey through the Amazon rainforest Commissioned by Thermengruppe Josef Wund, with art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) and experience designers TheLoveTriangle and White Mirror, Forest Bathing: Lupuna is an immersive virtual forest bathing experience for Therme Euskirchen near the city of Bonn.
Elnagar says: “Thermengruppe Josef Wund is passionate about bringing science and nature together and studying the effects of the biophilic environment on human wellbeing.
“They also understand the need to embrace technology to meet the expectations of an evolving audience.”
Forest Bathing: Lupuna, named after the South American tree, takes visitors through 24 hours of the Amazon rainforest in 24 minutes. Elnagar explains: “You step into a waterfall that opens up as you approach, leading to a room filled with rain. The space features 360 degree sound with recordings from the Amazon. Using spatial sound design, you hear everything from the buzz of a mosquito passing close by to raindrops falling.
“Next, you lay down on custom-designed lily pads. Overhead projectors display images ranging from wide-angle shots of towering trees to close-ups of the Queen of the Night, a flower that blooms just before dawn once a year. The space is carefully designed to engage and instil calm without overwhelming the senses.”
A meeting of minds The team behind these concepts by White Mirror includes co-founder Tom Middleton, a wellness music pioneer and sleep science coach who’s performed on global stages with stars such as Lady Gaga and Mark Ronson. Elnagar is a hybrid business strategist with a background in virtual and augmented reality and AI.
Research director Francisco Teixeira is a neurotech consultant who oversees the company’s Portugal-based research lab, where clients can validate their products and services before taking them to market. Meanwhile, artistic director Arianne Amores focuses on creating stunning visual concepts for brands.
Elnagar had his own tech company before meeting Middleton at a sleep conference. Soon after, the idea for White Mirror was born. He says: “Tom was performing music but wanted to focus on creating ‘music for purpose’. He’s a very kind soul who’s all about helping people. I was having my own purpose crisis and grappling with how we could create ‘tech for good’. We knew we had to work together.”
Research methods Behind the creation of such multi-layered immersive environments is research that monitors effects like reduced stress, greater relaxation, deeper sleep and enhanced sense of wellbeing.
Elnagar says: “Our lab examines psycho-physiological effects, such as heart rate, breathing patterns, brain activity, emotional arousal and galvanic skin response while the experience is happening. We also monitor how people feel before and after, using biometrics as well as pre- and post-questionnaires.”
White Mirror also recently facilitated a relationship between Thermengruppe Josef Wund and the International Arts and Minds Lab (IAMLAB) neuroaesthetics team at Johns Hopkins University in the US. This has resulted in ongoing research looking at what it is about light, sound and vibrations that make us feel good. The findings are due to be published by the end of this year, explains Elnagar.
“From this, we hope to develop a sensory playbook to share across industries,” he adds, “to help us all deliver more intentional wellness-orientated spaces.”
Awe-inducing experiences One thing that both the attractions and wellness communities have seen since the isolation of lockdown is people’s increased desire for more meaningful social engagements, which is something that White Mirror’s work seeks to address.
Elnagar says: “We look at how we can use art, science and music to open people up so that they can feel more and become healthier as a result.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2024 issue 4
People: Jess French
The children’s author sees her fantastical creations brought to life at Chester Zoo
Interview: Peter Slavenburg
As Drents Museum in the Netherlands launches a radically new collection presentation, we speak to the designer about doing things differently
Talking point: A helping hand
Attractions industry workers need support more than ever, but is enough being done? We speak to some experts putting wellness and mental health first
Planetarium: Looking up
Bringing people together under the dark skies of Arizona, Lowell Observatory’s new Astronomy Discovery Center is truly unique
Waterpark: Desert Oasis: Qiddiya Aquarabia
The largest waterpark in the Middle East is set to open in Saudi Arabia in 2026, and it’s going to be huge. We speak to the team behind this epic development
Museums: Nintendo Museum: Play on
Giant controllers, consoles operated by visitors’ shadows and a game based on Japanese poems... The Nintendo Museum opens in Kyoto
Technology: Kyle Morrand: The power of play
The CEO of 302 Interactive is using AR, VR and other technologies to solve real world problems, and transform the attractions industry. He shares his game plan
Interview: Dominic Jones
From a game-changing partnership to getting creative with budget technologies, the CEO of the Mary Rose Trust is bringing his commercial nous to the museum world
Research: In the heart of it
City centre attractions are transforming to meet the needs of experience-hungry visitors, but where are they headed next?
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
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