Project Overview

Initiated as part of the Victorian Government’s Young Driver Safety Package (announced in 2015), RTZ opened in August 2018, after an 18-month design and build. Drawing upon decades of road safety research and road safety and education experts and co-created with young people; RTZ aims to reduce road trauma among young people. This is important as globally road traffic injuries are now the leading cause of death of children and young people aged 5-29 years. (1)
RTZ features an immersive and exploratory exhibition (open to all) and multi-sensory interactive curriculum-based education program (for school groups). Taking an evidence-based approach to the development of RTZ, the project was based on best practice road safety education evidence (2) which highlighted the importance of using the following approaches:
Interactive, age appropriate and engaging: RTZ programs are highly interactive using state-of-the-art technology including virtual reality experiences.
Linked to the curriculum: The programs offered at RTZ directly link to key curriculum areas.
Ongoing delivery to build knowledge and capabilities over time: The TAC has developed curriculum aligned pre-visit and post-visit resources to extend students’ learning.
Encourages students to support and influence their peers positively: Empowers young people to create awareness and foster visitor motivation to adopt safe behaviours.

Organisation

Transport Accident Commission

Team

The world leading road safety experience, Road To Zero Education Complex (RTZ), at Melbourne Museum is both the first exhibition of its kind in the world and the first partnership between a road safety agency and a cultural institution. Developed by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) in partnership with Museums Victoria (MV), the aim of RTZ is to engage and empower young people (14-17 years), road safety stakeholders and the broader Victorian community in understanding our shared responsibility to achieve the vision of Towards Zero - a future where no one is killed or seriously injured.
Drawing on the expertise of the two key organisations, the partnership of TAC and MV pairs a diverse and complementary skillset which is pivotal to the success of the project. TAC’s evidence-based road safety research and innovative program development; in conjunction with MV’s exhibition development, audience engagement and excellent reputation in education and family programs; ensures the RTZ messaging has a high level of exposure.
Critical to the success of RTZ was the extensive research, iterative content development, rigorous testing and co-creation of the project. Engaging distinguished engineering, vehicle and behavioural road safety experts; and working with 300+ young people and teacher reference groups from initial planning through to development and testing, ensured that the exhibit was evidence-based, relevant and highly engaging.
Leading Australian design and creative agencies were commissioned to develop the ground-breaking immersive and exploratory Exhibition and multi-sensory interactive technology in the purpose-built Learning Studios. These included E2, Grumpy Sailor and Deeper Richer, with each agency responsible for creation and delivery of specific components of RTZ.
E2 - (https://www.e-2.com.au/): Created the vision and designed all of the spaces for RTZ. Drawing inspiration from both the human and automotive forms they oversaw the built form and ensured the seamless integration with the extensive digital components of RTZ. They were responsible for creating new spaces that were engaging and inviting for a youth audience while complementing the existing architectural integrity of the Melbourne Museum.
Grumpy Sailor- (http://www.grumpysailor.com/): Led the creative development, design and delivery of 15+ highly interactive exhibits for the permanent gallery - including multi-screen multi narrative film production, multi user touchscreens, Virtual Reality (VR) & Augmented Reality (AR) applications, 3D projection mapping and hardware initiated interactives. All integrated with a Near Field Communication (NFC) band to initiate and collect content to be accessible via a custom-built website.
Grumpy Sailor also developed a ‘video campaign making’ application for Health students. Using multi-touch screens designed for five students at a time, Grumpy created a custom video editor deployed across 10 pods.

Deeper Richer - (http://website.deeperricher.com/project/rsec-outreach-program/): Designed and delivered a companion pop-up outreach program for students unable to attend the complex. This included a large bespoke iPad video wall and six interactive stations employing a range of creative digital technologies (including VR & AR), offering students control over their learning.

Project Brief

Taking a strength-based approach, and a design strategy centred on experiential immersive experiences, RTZ empowers young people with the knowledge and motivation to play their part in improving road safety and making safe decisions as road users.
With this is in mind 15+ highly interactive exhibits were designed, each with a specific objective. Iterative design and user testing was critical to ensure the key message of each exhibit was observable; both paper and physical prototypes were created and tested with students and practising teachers throughout the process.
Stripping back complexity was key to the success of the experiences. We avoided onboarding experiences in favour of natural and intuitive design and designed experiences to be physically and visually immersive, providing a variety of experiences and ways of absorbing the road safety messages. The use of audio was integral to create an immersive experience, as was minimizing reading and applying natural feedback functions. The interactives needed to tread a careful line of being engaging and enjoyable without undermining the seriousness of the message.
A sample of the interactives include:
• an elevator simulation in which visitors travel, and the ever-increasing height demonstrates the impact that different speeds can have on bodies, culminating in a dramatic ‘drop’ from the 11th floor.
• An immersive VR experience where visitors travel in a car from 1970 to 2055, learning the history of road safety in Victoria and discovering what a future with zero deaths and serious injuries might look like.

Project Innovation/Need

• RTZ was developed over two separate spaces, the exhibition space and learning studios. Design inspiration was drawn between the similarity of human and technical structures both crucial to our understanding of road safety and were expressed using materiality that supports the visitor experience in each space; cool and exploratory in the exhibition space, warm and collaborative in the learning studio.

• Artwork by Daniel Crooks and illustrations by Stef Hughes were commissioned and incorporated as integral interior design elements which shaped the underlying mood, tone and pace of the visitor experience.

• Design of the spaces encourages visitors to engage with road safety from a personal perspective and explore one’s own vulnerability as an entry point to comprehend the complex interrelationships between human physiology and behaviour; and vehicle road engineering systems in creating a safer road system.

• RTZ was co-designed with teachers and young people. To accommodate the views and wishes of young people, the designers were tasked with creating an engaging and sophisticated environment that was not perceived as a classroom or traditional learning environment.

• The space available for the exhibition was relatively small and subterranean which required an innovative approach and led the team to develop a highly digital exhibition.

• Accessible design ensured the experiences worked across all ages and abilities. A good example of this is the Body Built to Survive exhibit which needed to show a body without race or gender. This was achieved through a combination of different design solutions.

Design Challenge

RTZ was an ambitious project which presented a range of challenges including:

• Designing an exhibition experience with a primary focus on influencing road user behaviour – which was the first of its kind worldwide.

• The project development and delivery phase was approximately 18 months whereas the usual development time for a new exhibition within the museum is 3-4 years.

RTZ required the collaboration of diverse stakeholders to balance the tension between the existing architecture within the iconic Melbourne Museum building and the introduction of the RTZ exhibition (including new branding and partnership arrangement).

• The site for the exhibition space was an existing storage area with constraints including low ceilings, structural limitations due to car traffic above and below the space and difficult circulation via a narrow single entry and exit point.

• RTZ has a proposed 10-year life span which required materials selection designed for high durability but also flexibility allowing for change as new data, road safety content and new technologies emerge.


• Managing an integrated solution of base building works, exhibition fitouts, ICT hardware procurement, and integration with existing Museum systems, in a live operating Museum within a short time frame.

Sustainability

• Joinery being the major trade was sourced through a local manufacturer rather than overseas procurement. It was made in Victoria from Australian sourced timbers and veneers.

• Prototyping was carried out for displays to minimise rework or abortive works, resulting in zero waste on site.

• Sustainable Access Floor Solution was used in the Exhibition Space, as a fully reusable system which can be used in alternative spaces with continued warranties, beyond the 10-year lifespan of RTZ.

• The existing extensive façade wall of glass was assessed for acoustic rating and reused, rather than replaced and dumped as construction waste.

• The design of RTZ allows for the removal of the exhibition and learning studios without removing perimeter walls and existing services, extending the life cycle beyond RTZ.

• During above ground works to protect the Exhibition space from water egress, construction waste was minimized by employing the services of a hire company to install a marquee in lieu of using a single-use temporary structure, an atypical process for building projects.

• As directed by our Melbourne-based contractors, interstate sub-contractors were engaged to create sample displays and work with the Sydney-based design team, reducing the carbon footprint of people travelling interstate.

• Low VOC paints were used throughout.

• All RTZ user experiences are paperless, with datasets collected using the NFC reader enabled ZeroCard (reusable and recyclable itself) emailed out to visitors and school groups.