UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM

TOWER OF FACES AUGMENTED REALITY EXPERIENCE

The best way to remember the dead is to honor the lives they lived. 

       -  Yaffa Eliach

Tessellate created an Augmented Reality (AR) experience in the iconic Tower of Faces (TOF) gallery at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, as a celebration of life. Challenged by the Museum in an open call for proposals, we wanted to find both a human and technical solution to tell the authentic story of the thriving life and culture of Eishishok, a Jewish community destroyed by Nazi German perpetrators and their local helpers during the Holocaust.

The USHMM is a living memorial to the Holocaust, inspiring citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Spanning multiple floors within the Museum's Permanent Exhibition, the TOF displays over 1,000 photographs collected by Yaffa Eliach. The photographs portray ordinary individuals and everyday life in Eishishok. The Museum sought an AR experience to enhance visitors’ historical understanding and facilitate deeper engagement with the photographs, without disturbing the existing visitor experience.

As visitors walk through the TOF, an AR experience brings a selection of 30 portraits to life through text, spoken narration, and imagery. An initial moment of color overlaid on the original black-and-white photography conveys the vibrant spirit of the community and the individuals who lost their lives. The experience is self-guided: visitors select AR-activated photos, hear the stories behind the photos, and even see relationships among people through animated connections visualized by AR, which lead visitors to nearby related portraits. An open-ended exploration approach allows visitors to meander through photographs and dive deeper into personal stories. Our goal is for people to leave the TOF with new questions and insights, grounded in an understanding of the impact of the events of the Holocaust on ordinary people and communities.

All technology and physical exhibit elements were designed to be accessible to all and follow a credo to  "Do No Harm" to the existing architecture and tone of the display. The non-intrusive design blends seamlessly with the historical exhibit and building style, allowing the photographs’ narratives to be the central focus. The devices are positioned along the walls of the gallery for optimal visitor circulation, supporting the 1.6M visitors the Museum welcomes annually. A visual prompt indicates to visitors that the tablets can be picked up for exploration. Once picked up, the tablet detaches from its magnetic charging stand, and visitors start their journey with an overview of Eishishok and the bonds throughout the community. 

The experience utilizes custom, site-specific AR software tightly mapping the real space with its digital twin and a back-end software platform that the Museum can administer, serving as a scalable system that evolves over time when new stories and features are added. Hardware includes an 11” tablet for visitor interaction and media presentation, a magnetic inductive charging mount, and a robust mounting solution including custom-designed handles. The exhibit launched publicly in May 2022, with over 70,000 visitors viewing 107,687 AR-activated photos to date.

Core77 2023 Interaction Design Winner

Core77 2023 Emerging Technologies Notable