Cooltopia
FKB designed, fabricated, and installed an interactive, immersive NFT experience as part of NYC.NFT 2022
NYC
Spring 2022
This three-day installation transformed a vacant retail store in Manhattan into Cooltopia, a fully-immersive experience that educates and entertains guests as real-life players before downloading and playing the digital version of the game. Designed for fabrication, constructed, and installed within a period of just 3.5 weeks, this 30,000-square-foot project was filled with 3D-printed Cool Cats, Cool Pets, and Cooltopia locations—as well as a number of real-time NFT displays including user-owned avatars.
In addition to fabrication, finishing, and installation services, FKB also provided design development to bring the concept of Cool Cats’ Cooltopia to life through a variety of methodologies including 3D printing, parametric manufacturing, digital manufacturing, and the implementation of creative technologies.
The FKB Design and Design Engineering teams worked in tandem with our Creative Technologists and CNC Operators to manufacture a variety of large-than-life replicas of Cool Cats, Cool Pets, and Cooltopia locations, which were then painted in-house.
Meanwhile, our Creative Technologist team worked tirelessly to program over 650 LED-enabled light-up flowers for the space. Configured with Arduino IDE and utilizing a circuit playground board from Adafruit, these flowers reacted to touch and guests’ interactions within the space via built-in accelerometers and LEDs.
Experiential activations in Cooltopia included a pirate ship on a mission to save Cooltopia, a lava pit at the foot of a marshmallow mountain, and the beautiful Garden of Lights as well as a Milk Bar, Town Hall, and an Upside Down room.
Located in Center415 in Manhattan, attendees entered Cooltopia after receiving an NFC wristband that served as an access key for point accumulation from different activities and activations within the event. After exploring Cooltopia and collecting all the points, guests could then access a tokenized merchandising store powered by Shopify to purchase exclusive new Cool Cats products.
The video below was provided courtesy of MediaMonks via Youtube
What People Are Saying
“I loved this event because it wasn’t just a party…I love a good social soiree…but this was different. It was memorable. It was an experience.”
“NFT NYC’s Best Event Was Cooltopia” — Medium / Non Fungible Therapist
“This fully immersive experience is designed as a gamified journey that inspires, educates, and entertains guests as IRL players before they play the digital game.”
“Cooltopia Is Coming to NYC” — Business Wire
“The event is packed with the Cool Cats…that community members love…while showcasing the wonder and fun of this magical place to an entirely new audience.”
“Cooltopia Comes to New York” — GeekMetaVerse
