WEBZINE ACC

Last month, the ACC Children reopened after renovations to improve its aging public spaces and reorganize the environment to make it more user-friendly for visitors. It was the first time in nearly a decade that the ACC Children had been closed and reopened since its opening in 2015. Over the past month, the existing barriers, character installations, and rest areas have all been removed and remodeled with a new design, creating a safer and more comfortable space. When we first entered the newly renovated the ACC Children, we were greeted by a bright, open lobby space in white.

A New Public Space in the Lobby and Sign Graphic Improvements

Renovation works at the ACC Children Lobby consisted of remodeling the public spaces at the lobby and implementing new sign graphics. The left-hand side of the ACC Children entrance was furnished with a Kiosk for ticketing, and the Item Storage area, which had been placed further inward in the past, was moved to the entrance area so that visitors could drop off their items after ticketing. Another major change was the integration and relocation of the Information Desk, Ticket Office, and Item Rental services to the center of the Lobby. If visitors cannot access the Kiosk for ticketing or wheelchair requests, they can head to the Information Desk right away to get assistance and information.

One feature that was particularly emphasized in this renovation project was the visitors’ movement route. Colors were used to distinguish the different spaces within the ACC Children and guide the visitors toward them in an intuitive manner. Orange is the standard guide color of the ACC Children, whereas red denotes common spaces, such as the Lunch Box Lounge, the ACC Children’s Shop DLAC Kids, and the Parkment Kids Lounge. Furthermore, each space is matched with a color that corresponds to the theme of the space, such as purple (education) for Children’s Contents R&D Office; green (experience and exhibition) for Culture Adventure and Play Kids; yellow (performance) for PlayHouse; and blue (cultural space) for Play Library and Children’s Event Hall.

The ACC Children’s sign graphics are patterned after ACC’s vision, “a window of Asian culture to the world,” and the symbol of ACC architecture, “light of memories.” In capturing the identity of the ACC Children, its spatial design has been revamped around the idea of “children playing with light that illuminates the window of culture.”

The new logotype for the ACC Children combines the circle, which represents eyes as organs that see and remember light, and the rectangle, which symbolizes the “window of Asian culture to the world.” Pictograms that guide visitors to restrooms or show the location of convenience facilities, safety features, recycling, and directions likewise make use of overlapping circles and rectangles to present information in a way that stimulates children’s creative imagination.

Another notable feature of the new sign graphics is their child-friendly nature. From the very entrance, a character leads the gaze of the children at their eye level to signs like “no running.” Pictograms depicting restrooms and other features have been installed at the visitors’ eye level as well. For children with visual impairment, tactile maps of the ACC Children will be developed and distributed.

Convergent Content Brought to Life With Advanced Media Technology
“Metaverse Experience,” “Play Library,” “Asian Story Bundle: An Adventure through Picture Books”

The renewal is significant not only because it improves the space design but also because it introduces convergence contents that combine art and technology. New content in the ACC Children utilizes advanced media technologies such as metaverse, AI, and immersive content to further enhance children’s artistic sensitivity and imagination.

The new “Metaverse Experience” in Culture Adventure offers an opportunity for children to explore the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and Egypt, as well as Asian cultures, through 3D avatars in a virtual space. For instance, children can work on terraced rice paddies in the Philippines or travel through time and space into yurts, mobile houses used in Central Asia, and solve different missions there. Through these programs, visitors can learn what kind of clothes the people back then wore, how they lived, and other facets of Asian culture. The Metaverse Experience is intended for third- to fourth-graders, and it can be accessed via the Internet outside the experience space as well. It was jointly developed by the National Asian Culture Center (ACC) and the Witches Digital Media Creation group, and its service is provided by The Sandbox, a global metaverse platform.

The Play Library has been renewed into a space where children can come up with fun things to do with books. For instance, it features activities like AI-based drawing and music composition, along with picture diary–writing using deep learning technologies.

The Children’s Event Hall features the special exhibition “Asian Story Bundle: An Adventure through Picture Books” (payment required). This exhibition recreates five picture books depicting stories across Asia with immersive content, featuring adventures such as searching for the queen of the lake’s jewelry, transforming into a cloud, or drawing petroglyphs.

[Visitor Interview]
“After visiting the new ACC Children, what are your impressions?”

As the ACC Children included various spaces like experience areas, libraries, performance halls, and creative laboratories in a large space, some visitors had difficulty finding their way around in the past. With the new spatial reorganization and sign graphics that take into account visitors’ movement routes, visitors are expected to be able to comfortably and easily access what the ACC Children has to offer. The space improvement will continue in stages in the future, such as adding child-friendly signage and reinstalling character installations using softer materials for safety.

We hope that children, who will be the protagonists of the future, can experience a multitude of Asian cultures and develop their dreams and new ideas through creative activities that integrate advanced media technology and, thus, expand their imagination in the new ACC Children. We look forward to the various features that will be added to the ACC Children 10 years after its opening.